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
Timothy EganEven 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
Fumitaka Matsuoka… an American who spent World War II with his parents in an internment camp.—Philip Siekman
Philip SiekmanExamples 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
In 1917, Woodrow Wilson used the act to curtail the activities and speech of German citizens, leading to the internment of more than 6000 Germans, though they were provided with a hearing.
—Richard Stengel, Time, 23 May 2025
The Trump administration justified the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a piece of legislation from 1798 that previously was used as defense for Japanese internment camps during World War II.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025
The story is based on Tokuda-Hall’s grandparents, who met at the library in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.
—Lillian Ali, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 May 2025
The law has been used just three times: in the War of 1812, World War I, and, infamously, in World War II to imprison Japanese-Americans in internment camps — a shameful chapter in our history.
—Juan Vargas, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 May 2025
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Richard Stengel, Time, 23 May 2025
The Trump administration justified the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a piece of legislation from 1798 that previously was used as defense for Japanese internment camps during World War II.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025
The story is based on Tokuda-Hall’s grandparents, who met at the library in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.
—Lillian Ali, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 May 2025
The law has been used just three times: in the War of 1812, World War I, and, infamously, in World War II to imprison Japanese-Americans in internment camps — a shameful chapter in our history.
—Juan Vargas, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for internment
Cite this Entry
“Internment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/internment. Accessed 30 May. 2025.
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