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
The favorite to win Brazil’s election has promised to free his imprisoned father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, grant amnesty to supporters and impeach Supreme Court justices. — Marina Dias, Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2026 The company is required by its contract and state policy to provide mental health treatment, education and other services to imprisoned youth. — Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 25 Sep. 2026 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
Verb
The Sentencing Project, an advocacy group that wants fewer people behind bars, reports that white women were imprisoned at a rate of 41 per 100,000 in 2023, while white men were imprisoned at 341 per 100,000, more than eight times as high. — Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026 The pity of the judge who imprisoned them here was cold comfort for a group of people who had little reason to trust any legal authority. — Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026 Pulido had been imprisoned in Venezuela since 2023 in connection with the PDVSA-Cripto corruption investigation. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2026 Blacks in the South were routinely imprisoned on petty or trumped-up charges, then leased out to landowners, mining companies, railroads and factories as unpaid labor. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026 Bukele has managed to reduce murders to a historic low in El Salvador but faces accusations of abuses during the state of emergency that began in 2022 and has imprisoned more than 91,000 people. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 Williams has been imprisoned since 2003 for the attacks on Congregation B’nai Israel, Congregation Beth Shalom in Carmichael and the Kenesset Israel Torah Center in Arden Arcade. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026 Jair Bolsonaro is imprisoned in connection with this case, while his son has pledged to grant him amnesty as his first act in office. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026 In 1824, the British lockmaker Charles Chubb challenged a burglar, who was imprisoned on a ship, to open one of his toughest locks. — Shayla Love, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imprisoned
  1. arrested
  2. jailed
  3. captive
  4. interned
  5. incarcerated
Adjective
  • In the case of the arrested teenager, who was detained in early August, agents pulled him and another man out of a truck in the 7-Eleven parking lot.
    — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of arrested
Verb
  • Davis anti-transgender activist and school board candidate Beth Bourne was briefly jailed on trespassing charges Tuesday after her arrest outside a Sonoma high school, the Sonoma newspaper reported.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Individuals can now be fined as much as $5 billion rupiah ($280,000) and jailed up to 15 years.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of jailed
Adjective
  • According to Mercedes-Benz’s captive finance company, Moore doesn’t legally own the car.
    — Byron Hurd, The Drive, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Along with Cold War Choir Practice, this is her second cult-captive housewife in less than a year.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of captive
Verb
  • Whiting also interned with the campaign of a Parliament candidate while studying abroad in London.
    — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Peyton Stewart was a 21-year-old international business major who grew up with her sister in Westwood, New Jersey, studied abroad in London and interned at TikTok.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of interned
Adjective
  • The Bureau of Prisons did not respond with specifics to Deadline’s request Monday for information on his medical and incarcerated status.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Congress should fully fund federal prisons so the bureau is adequately staffed and equipped to safely prepare incarcerated men and women for reentry and reduce further instances of crime.
    — Scott Peyton, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of incarcerated

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Cite this Entry

“Imprisoned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imprisoned. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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