IMPRISONMENT Synonyms: 37 Similar and Opposite Words

imprisonment

noun

Definition of imprisonment

as in captivity

the act of confining or the state of being confined the offense is punishable by a fine or imprisonment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in incarceration

the state of being held in lawful custody the long years of imprisonment had taken their toll on his mind and spirit as well as his body

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 imprisonment According to the church, Wang's family has been permitted fewer than five visits during nearly eight years of imprisonment. — Mitch Picasso, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026 For some, the potential release of thousands of prisoners doesn’t go far enough to repair the damage of their prolonged imprisonment. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 The series, directed by Phillipa Lowthorpe and also starring Joseph Fiennes, told the true story of Zaghari Ratfcliffe’s wrongful seven-year imprisonment in Iran and her husband’s subsequent fight for her release. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026 One of those Americans was punched, subjected to electric shocks and forced to eat his own vomit during eight months of imprisonment, the indictment says. — Philip Marcelo, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026 Whether or not Hal was right to entice Zoe (upon whose shoulders the carnage ultimately falls), his decision to circumvent the Guardians’ chain of command is what ultimately leads to countless deaths and his imprisonment for reckless endangerment. — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026 For The Other Side of the Sun, which premiered at Berlin, director Sabouni returned to Saydnaya Prison with four fellow survivors to retrace the places and experiences that shaped their years of imprisonment. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026 The award is named after Justice Albie Sachs, a hero of the anti-apartheid movement who survived imprisonment, exile and an assassination attempt in the fight for equality in South Africa. — Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 1 Oct. 2026 Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s top-secret doc is 174 minutes and follows Theranos founder and fraudster Elizabeth Holmes in her final days of freedom and first few weeks of imprisonment. — Isabelle Farina, Variety, 23 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for imprisonment

Noun

But their local expertise, connections, courage, and instincts could stave off death or captivity.

— Ben Taub, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Regev directly countered Piker's claims about the October 7 attacks by delivering a harrowing eyewitness account of her captivity in Gaza.

— Staff, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of captivity

Noun

Those with misdemeanors can vote or if the person has an unsentenced status with no prior felony conviction unless voting rights have been restored following the release from incarceration for the felony conviction.

— Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
The first half of Fielder and Oppenheim’s film chronicles the 34 days leading up to the incarceration of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the blood-testing technology company Theranos.

— Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of incarceration

Noun

Adding to the dark absurdity of the situation was the fact that Seghers’s husband, the Hungarian Marxist scholar László Radványi, was being held in a French internment camp, on the basis that Hungary was a German ally.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
At the exhibition’s press opening, curator Cindy Kang talked about trying to dispel the idea that internment was an isolated incident that these artists then moved on from.

— Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of internment

Noun

The 911 call recordings, as reported by the Associated Press, showed that first responders and prison officials did not know whether a request for emergency help from within the execution chamber was legitimate.

— David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
Eady-Williams sentenced Pham and Salerno to life in prison without possibility of parole for the murder charges.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of prison

Noun

As such, it could be easily exported to describe Jewish quarters elsewhere—and eventually adapted to describe sites of confinement or exclusion the world over.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
In the 1925 novel, the appearance of fledglings symbolizes freedom, confinement and even spiritual rebirth, themes that follow lead characters Clarissa and Sally (whom Edebiri portrays) as the story unfolds.

— Bianca Betancourt, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of confinement

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imprisoning

imprisonment

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

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Synonyms of imprisonment

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