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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

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 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

Seeking refuge from constant bombardment, Anna discovers Bianca, her imaginary double, living in a fantastical town imprisoned by a war of its own. — Alexandra Patterson, Variety, 3 Sep. 2026 You’re born in a place where women are treated terribly, or journalists are imprisoned, and those people need some luck. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026 Home distillers can be fined $10,000 for every batch and imprisoned for up to five years. — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026 She was imprisoned for four months in different facilities, where she was deprived of her medications, forced to stay awake, and convicted of falsified charges, according to the lawsuit. — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026 The gang still exists, but most of Romo’s followers are dead, imprisoned or hiding after becoming government witnesses. — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026 Daniels and Farinha have also both confronted their share of skeptics about the odds of turning around those who have been imprisoned as well as those heading in that direction. — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 23 Aug. 2026 Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, an up-and-coming FBI agent who reluctantly consults imprisoned murderer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to track down a dangerous serial killer. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Aug. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for imprisoned

Adjective

Other Surrealists, meanwhile, seemed to take from animals a license to exploit other (generally female) bodies, as in Clovis Trouille’sJustine(1937), in which both a naked female figure and a lion are bound and captive.

— Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 28 Aug. 2026
When a regulated utility builds the same project, overruns are passed to captive customers.

— Joshua Macey, Hartford Courant, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of captive

Adjective

The judge referenced a case in May where an incarcerated man at Milwaukee County Jail staff called and harassed the victim in his case 1,535 times using a tablet from the jail.

— Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Correctional staff at York Correctional Institute in Niantic found an incarcerated woman unresponsive in her cell on Wednesday morning, according to the Connecticut Department of Correction.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of incarcerated

Verb

Johnson hired a young Ossoff as a staffer on the recommendation of the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis, the civil rights icon Ossoff interned for and considered a mentor.

— Sam Gringlas, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026
Black Americans were struggling against the legacy of Jim Crow, and Abdeen interned with Ernest Goodman, a civil-rights lawyer who was reviving the National Lawyers Guild, a collective of progressive legal professionals.

— Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of interned

Browse Nearby Words

imprison

imprisoned

imprisoning

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Imprisoned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imprisoned. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of imprisoned

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

matriculate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

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

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4

Popular

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

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Games & Quizzes