incarceration
Americannoun
-
incarcerations
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of incarceration
First recorded in 1530–40; from French incarcération, from Latin incarcerātiōn-, stem of incarcerātiō, equivalent to incarcerāt(us), past participle of incarcerāre “to imprison” + -iō -ion ( def. ); see incarcerate ( def. )
Explanation
Incarceration is the state of being in prison. If you don't fancy incarceration, don't go through with that bank heist. The noun incarceration comes from the Latin word carcer, meaning "jail." There are many different types of incarceration. If you commit a crime and get locked up, that's one form of incarceration. Some people might feel that school is a form of incarceration. Some highly religious people think of the body as an incarceration of the spirit. A great synonym for this word is captivity.
Vocabulary lists containing incarceration
Just Mercy
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They Called Us Enemy
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Turtles All the Way Down
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"We frequently say that a person coming from a long period of incarceration can be 60 but have the health status of a 90-year-old," Skoczulek said.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The documentary traces Manson to his troubled childhood and almost constant incarceration in youth facilities and jails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
In the 1940s and 1950s, rates of black arrests and incarceration were significantly lower than today, and black incomes and years of education rose at a faster clip than among whites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The Supreme Court disagreed with Bush, declaring in a landmark decision that despite detainees’ designation as enemy combatants or incarceration at Guantánamo, they are not barred from seeking habeas.
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026
This book is about getting closer to mass incarceration and extreme punishment in America.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Another option would be to allow a plea of “not guilty by reason of dementia” or to enact sentencing limits similar to those protecting juveniles from lifelong incarcerations.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 17, 2023
He wasn’t, but his behavior with the hospital staff qualified him for involuntary hospitalization, the first in a series of hospitalizations, incarcerations and bouts of homelessness.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 25, 2021
Two “lifers,” locked up together indefinitely in Shawshank prison, form a bond that transcends decades of their lives and, ultimately, their own incarcerations in this heart-wrenching adaptation of a novella by Stephen King.
From New York Times ● Sep. 10, 2020
For almost a decade, the women protested the incarcerations by attending Mass at St. Rita’s Church in Havana each Sunday dressed in white.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2020
Of course there had been arrests and incarcerations, and the Intransigeant and the Rappel were filled with the echoes of the explosion.
From A Little Tour of France by Joseph Pennell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
