incarcerated 1 of 2

adjective

in-ˈkär-sə-ˌrā-təd How to pronounce incarcerated (audio)
Definition of incarceratednext
as in imprisoned
taken and held prisoner incarcerated residents of that state are still allowed to vote in elections

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

incarcerated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of incarcerate
as in jailed
to put in or as if in prison the state incarcerated over 1900 people last year

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 incarcerated
Adjective
Research studies have shown that children of incarcerated parents are more likely to experience mental health challenges and develop antisocial behaviors. — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026 Grayson filed for release under the Joe Coleman Act, which applies to incarcerated people who are terminally ill or medically incapacitated. — Ava Kelley, NBC news, 31 July 2026
Verb
Black people are killed or incarcerated every day for much less than what Dad did. — Wilbert L. Cooper, Longreads, 25 Aug. 2026 Dave Evans, a spokesperson for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, said Sunday that Vasquez had been released from custody while Felix remained incarcerated at the Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix. — CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for incarcerated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incarcerated
  1. imprisoned
  2. jailed
  3. captive
  4. interned
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, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The move came in response to a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of imprisoned
Verb
  • İmamoğlu was jailed and formally disqualified from public office.
    — Nick TaborAll, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Many other leading activists were also jailed under the same law, including former media tycoon Jimmy Lai.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of jailed
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
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

incarcerate
incarcerated
incarcerates
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation
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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

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
See More

Popular

See More

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

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
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
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All