confinement

noun

con·​fine·​ment kən-ˈfīn-mənt 

: an act of confining : the state of being confined

solitary confinement

especially : lying-in

Synonyms

• captivity
• immurement
• impoundment
• imprisonment
• incarceration
• internment
• prison

Examples of confinement in a Sentence

The dog was kept in confinement until it was determined to be healthy.

He remained with his wife during her confinement.

Recent Examples on the Web

Al-Halabi spent nearly 10 months in confinement awaiting his trial’s resolution, even as many of the charges against him were dropped, including the most serious ones of espionage and aiding the enemy. —Tamara Audi, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024

Kim Taylor, who could have faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison per count, must serve four months of home confinement following her prison release plus two years of probation, as well as cover $5,200 in court costs. —Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024

On the sixth day of my confinement, word came to me that Hafiz’s grandmother had travelled on foot all the way from Asawasi to plead in person on her grandson’s behalf. —Mohammed Naseehu Ali, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Two volunteers, Tracy Schlapp and Daniel Wilson, had launched a writing workshop that resulted in an anthology of meditations on beauty, regret, and confinement. —Grant Stringer, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Mar. 2024

Shops like Modern Nostalgic inspire us to treat the home not as a confinement, but as a blank canvas. —Vanessa Labi, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024

This means that inmates in the future could be on home confinement for years. —Walter Pavlo, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024

She was released from federal prison to community confinement six months early in August 2023. —Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024

Much of this history was preserved by Pat Ward-Thomas, an RAF pilot captured after being shot down over the Netherlands, who detailed the camp experience in letters home during his confinement. —Jack Bantock, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French, from confiner "to confine entry 2" + -ment -ment

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing confinement

• solitary confinement

Medical Definition

confinement

noun

con·​fine·​ment kən-ˈfīn-mənt 

: an act of confining : the state of being confined

especially : lying-in

Legal Definition

confinement

noun

con·​fine·​ment

1

: the act of confining

2

: the state of being confined