IMPRISONED Synonyms: 67 Similar and Opposite Words

imprisoned 1 of 2

adjective

as in arrested

taken and held prisoner took up the cause of imprisoned political dissidents

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

imprisoned

2 of 2

verb

past tense of imprison

as in jailed

to put in or as if in prison in this society, we try to imprison criminals so that they can't do any more harm

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of imprisoned

Adjective

Last year, the PKK — considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies — announced its decision to disband, following a call by its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. — Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026 The move came in response to a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. — ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026 Her adultery story initially evokes the imprisoned girl’s compensatory reveries, but over time its focus shifts. — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026 The new version of Hannibal starred Mads Mikkelsen as a pre-imprisoned Hannibal Lecter, forging a relationship with Hugh Dancy’s Will Graham. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026 The modern field of bioethics emerged from the 1947 Nuremberg Doctors’ Trial, where Nazi physicians were prosecuted for conducting brutal medical experiments on imprisoned people. — Jennifer McCurdy, The Conversation, 2 June 2026 Throughout the series, Creasy is operating under the intel that the FRP, an extremist organization in Brazil, and its imprisoned leader, Ferraz, are behind the bombing of the high-rise. — Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 2 May 2026 In the play’s penultimate scene — one of the most gorgeous, daring and breathless in American theater, and all taking place in an imprisoned Gallimard’s imagination — Song strips for Gallimard, trying to force him to confront the truth. — Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Feb. 2026 Foro Penal, which keeps tabs on imprisoned dissidents and regime opponents, estimates that nearly 400 detainees will not benefit, noting the law covers only a 13-year period of the 27 years of Chavismo. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026

Verb

The former cricket star turned politician was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022 and has been imprisoned since 2023 after being convicted in multiple cases. — ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026 The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world where 39 women and one girl—the book’s nameless protagonist—have been imprisoned in an underground bunker for years. — Air Mail, 15 Aug. 2026 Murdaugh remains imprisoned on separate state and federal financial-crime sentences. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2026 These two individuals have been intimidated, beaten, and imprisoned – in one case for daring to challenge the authorities, and in the other for allegedly violating harsh dress codes. — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Aug. 2026 Fogel was imprisoned in 2021, sentenced to 14 years on charges of possessing marijuana. — Michael Loria, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026 But a few years later, after committing similar crimes there, he was arrested and imprisoned at the Château de Vincennes at the king’s orders, under a lettre de cachet (signet letter). — Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026 Gilman was one of at least 10 Americans known to be imprisoned in Russia. — Henry Austin, NBC news, 11 Aug. 2026 In the book, Rhaenyra also orders that Nettles be imprisoned, but Daemon, who is suspected of being Nettles’s lover, lets her escape. — James Grebey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for imprisoned

Adjective

Four Paws, the international animal-welfare organization overseeing the transfer, described it as one of the largest relocations of captive big cats in the world.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
Before the transfers began last month, the park housed 30 belugas and four dolphins, notably the last captive whales and dolphins in Canada.

— Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of captive

Adjective

The death of an incarcerated individual is traumatic for all involved.

— Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
Sixteen incarcerated people were hospitalized, including one who was transported by helicopter, after lightning struck at a prison complex southwest of Cleveland, according to the Ohio Department of Corrections.

— Laura Bargfeld, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of incarcerated

Verb

But the younger Meek isn’t emerging out of nowhere, either, having interned for congressional committees and the Executive office of the President under Joe Biden, according to his LinkedIn.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2026
In 1941, Italian antifascists produced the Ventotene Manifesto (named for a small island where they were interned), calling for a federal socialist Europe.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of interned

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“Imprisoned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imprisoned. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of imprisoned

adjective

verb

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