immure

verb

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im·mure | \ i-ˈmyu̇r

immured; immuring

Definition of immure

transitive verb

1a : to enclose within or as if within walls

b : imprison

2 : to build into a wall especially : to entomb in a wall

Other Words from immure Synonyms Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about immure

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Did You Know?

Like "mural," "immure" comes from "murus," a Latin noun that means "wall." "Immurare," a Medieval Latin verb, was formed from "murus" and the prefix in- (meaning "in" or "within"). "Immure," which first appeared in English in the late 16th century, literally means "to wall in" or "to enclose with a wall," but it has extended meanings as well. In addition to senses meaning "imprison" and "entomb," the word sometimes has broader applications, essentially meaning "to shut in" or "to confine." One might remark, for example, that a very studious acquaintance spends most of her time "immured in the library" or that a withdrawn teenager "immures himself in his bedroom every night."

Examples of immure in a Sentence

scientists at the research station in Alaska are immured by the frozen wastelands that surround them immured by a controlling, possessive mother, the young woman had no outside social life

Recent Examples on the Web The last slave had been immured within its walls, and St. Michael’s curfew was to be sweetest music thenceforth and forever. — Jonathan W. White, Smithsonian, "When Emancipation Finally Came, Slave Markets Took on a Redemptive Purpose," 27 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'immure.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.