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 of incarceration

• captivity
• internment
• imprisonment
• prison
• confinement

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

Rather, sentence length produces consequences extending well beyond incarceration itself, influencing institutional placement, programming opportunities, personal safety, and ultimately the prospects for rehabilitation. — Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026

Occhicone has cost Florida taxpayers $850,000 for his incarceration, not taking into account his legal appeals, Tampa television station WTVT has reported. — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 24 July 2026

Pitera was a mob enforcer for the Bonanno crime family and was suspected of 60 murders prior to his 1992 incarceration. — Shelby Stivale, Entertainment Weekly, 23 July 2026

The documentary traces Manson to his troubled childhood and almost constant incarceration in youth facilities and jails. — Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1540, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for incarceration

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

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