incarceration

noun

in·​car·​cer·​a·​tion (ˌ)in-ˌkär-sə-ˈrā-shən 

plural incarcerations

: confinement in a jail or prison : the act of imprisoning someone or the state of being imprisoned

Despite the drop in crime in past decades, rates of arrest and incarceration in New York City have not gone down.

—Robin Steinberg

To this day, the Supreme Court has not overruled its infamous Korematsu opinion of 1944, which validated our mass incarceration in deference to national security.

—George Takei

Synonyms

• captivity
• confinement
• immurement
• impoundment
• imprisonment
• internment
• prison

Examples of incarceration in a Sentence

he was bored and frustrated by his incarceration in the quarantine

sentenced to six months of incarceration for dealing in narcotics

Recent Examples on the Web

Thousands of prisoners have now been freed, many after decades of incarceration in brutal conditions. —Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024

On another wall were carved prisoners’ names, birthplaces and dates of incarceration. —Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024

Community Justice Council seeks to coordinate care and reduce incarceration The Milwaukee Community Justice Council was created in the 2000s to bring criminal justice, public health and other government leaders together to improve public safety and find alternatives to incarceration. —Eva Wen, Journal Sentinel, 11 Dec. 2024

As Masterson pursued both the appeal and a petition challenging his incarceration, his appellate lawyers started looking for jurors willing to discuss possible problems with the trial. —Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 10 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1540, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

incarceration

noun

in·​car·​cer·​a·​tion in-ˌkär-sə-ˈrā-shən 

1

: a confining or state of being confined

2

: abnormal retention or confinement of a body part

specifically : a constriction of the neck of a hernial sac so that the hernial contents become irreducible