internment
Americannoun
-
an act or instance of interning, or confining a person or ship to prescribed limits during wartime.
the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
-
the state of being interned; confinement.
noun
Etymology
Origin of internment
Compare meaning
How does internment compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Internment means putting a person in prison or other kind of detention, generally in wartime. During World War II, the American government put Japanese-Americans in internment camps, fearing they might be loyal to Japan. Internment usually doesn’t involve a trial, so you're being held because someone thinks you might be dangerous, but there’s no proof. The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II is now widely considered to have been a terrible mistake, in that the citizens who were detained — some for as long as four years — were not traitors, but loyal Americans, and their internment caused them considerable emotional and economic hardship. Internment comes from the Latin internus, “inward.”
Vocabulary lists containing internment
Farewell to Manzanar
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
They Called Us Enemy
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
World War II
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
In 1942 he entered one of the government’s Japanese internment camps.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Ms. Gage deals with it by visiting the remnants of a Japanese internment camp at Manzanar, Calif., and the research facility in Los Alamos, N.M., where U.S. government scientists built the atomic bomb.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
By 1940, new policies ordered all German nationals - Jewish or not - into internment camps.
From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025
I’m not sure I knew internment had happened, or understood its scale, before I reached adulthood.
From Salon • Jul. 6, 2025
They’d been married at the Manzanar internment camp in a tar paper Buddhist chapel.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
