imprisonment

B2 Topic:Crime & Justice

US /ˌɪmˈprɪzənmənt/ UK /ɪmˈpɹɪzn̩.mənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #10829

Meanings

1

noun
The punishment of being kept in prison.

The judge sentenced him to five years' imprisonment.
2

noun
The state of being confined or kept against your will.

The hostages described their long imprisonment in a dark room.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the punishment of being... incarceration

2 noun · the state of being confined... captivity incarceration

Word family

Forms imprisonments

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

life imprisonment
a prison sentence formally imposed for the remainder of a person's life

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman emprisonement, from Old French emprisonnement. See imprison + -ment.

emprisonement xno emprisonnement Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Crime & Justice

External links

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