incarceration

noun

(ˌ)in-ˌkär-sə-ˈrā-shən How to pronounce incarceration (audio)
Definition of incarcerationnext
1
as in captivity
the act of confining or the state of being confined he was bored and frustrated by his incarceration in the quarantine

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imprisonment
the state of being held in lawful custody sentenced to six months of incarceration for dealing in narcotics

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 incarceration The poll, commissioned by the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit working to end mass incarceration, was conducted shortly after ICE agents shot and killed two immigrants during traffic stops in Maine and Texas over the span of six days in July. — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026 However, just before an August 2025 hearing, the filing states, the families learned Butler would not agree to plead guilty or to incarceration at a juvenile facility after all. — Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026 Giving deputies immediate access to behavioral health resources improves outcomes, enhances safety and connects people with long-term support instead of unnecessary incarceration. — Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 5 Aug. 2026 His account of his incarceration, with its mind-numbing routines, gang hegemony and intermittent violence, is equally gripping. — Julia M. Klein, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for incarceration
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incarceration
  1. captivity
  2. imprisonment
  3. internment
  4. detention
  5. prison
  6. confinement
Noun
  • As Koschei the Deathless stirs from millennia-long captivity, powerful allies close in to reclaim the human lands.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • For the project, focused on ending the captivity of dolphins and whales in marine parks, Panettiere was photographed in a tiny bathtub.
    — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of captivity
Noun
  • More than once, his white planter friends stood by him in court and kept him from unjust imprisonment and even execution.
    — Paul Schullery, Outdoor Life, 13 Aug. 2026
  • To sleuth out who the culprits are, Murashige lends on the extra-sharp deductive skills of Kanbei, who implored for death rather than imprisonment.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of imprisonment
Noun
  • While the boys were raised in Hiroshima, their parents and new baby brother were sent to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona, as the fighting continued.
    — Rina Nakano, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Established in 1855 as a military post to fight against the Mescalero Apache, the fort went on to play a minor role in the Civil War and later served as a tuberculosis sanitorium and a World War II internment camp.
    — Allison Savage Bates, Denver Post, 19 July 2026
Definition of internment
Noun
  • In the past, people like Calderón with pending USCIS applications or immigration court cases weren't priorities for detention.
    — Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Hana reported that plainclothes agents confiscated phones and electronic equipment and that Seyedabdollahi was subsequently held in solitary confinement and at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence detention facility in Isfahan.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of detention
Noun
  • In a rare judicial win in such cases, the client was handed 18 months in prison.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • During the week, Aikman continues his training through the Canine Companions prison puppy raising program at FMC Carswell in Fort Worth.
    — Nelly Carreño, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of prison
Noun
  • She was released in December 2025 and has spent another eight months under house arrest or in halfway-house confinement.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026
  • In 1842, the appellate court reduced the offense from a premeditated breach of duty to a negligent one, acquitted Ebel of founding a sect, and quashed his confinement.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of confinement

Browse Nearby Words

incarcerating
incarceration
incarcerations
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Incarceration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incarceration. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on incarceration

Nglish: Translation of incarceration for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of prowess

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All