internment

noun

in·​tern·​ment in-ˈtərn-mənt 

ˈin-ˌtərn-

plural internments

: the act of interning someone or the state of being interned

His parents had never told him about the exclusion laws, or the internment of Japanese-Americans, and the subject had not come up in his textbooks.

—Timothy Egan

Even in the midst of betrayal and the resulting alienation experienced in the internment, there exists the unnegotiable state of human bonds and possibility for reconciliation.

—Fumitaka Matsuoka

… an American who spent World War II with his parents in an internment camp.

—Philip Siekman

Synonyms of internment

• captivity
• incarceration
• imprisonment
• confinement
• prison

Examples of internment in a Sentence

the internment of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II is one of the more shameful chapters in United States history

Recent Examples on the Web

Tursun, 36, told us that her newborn son — one of triplets — had been killed by the Chinese Communist Party and that she was tortured in internment camps. —Michael Arkush, Twin Cities, 26 May 2026

Doris Matsui's ads recount her own compelling life story — born in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. —Steve Large, CBS News, 20 May 2026

The Tule Lake Segregation Center in Modoc County, California, is a national monument dedicated to the Japanese Americans who were held at this concentration camp as part of Japanese internment during World War II; only 37 of the site’s 1,100 acres are currently protected. —Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 20 May 2026

Among the most painful letters are those between Scheidt’s father and his brother, who would also spend time in internment camps. —Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for internment

• adjournment
• attornment
• concernment
• discernment

Kids Definition

internment

noun

in·​tern·​ment

in-ˈtərn-mənt, 

ˈin-ˌtərn-

: the act of interning : the state of being interned