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

The poll, commissioned by the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit working to end mass incarceration, was conducted shortly after ICE agents shot and killed two immigrants during traffic stops in Maine and Texas over the span of six days in July. — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026

However, just before an August 2025 hearing, the filing states, the families learned Butler would not agree to plead guilty or to incarceration at a juvenile facility after all. — Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, D-Jefferson Park, linked the affordability crisis with mass incarceration. — Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 5 Aug. 2026

Giving deputies immediate access to behavioral health resources improves outcomes, enhances safety and connects people with long-term support instead of unnecessary incarceration. — Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 5 Aug. 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