imprison

verb

im·​pris·​on im-ˈpri-zᵊn 

imprisoned; imprisoning; imprisons

transitive verb

: to put in or as if in prison : confine

imprisonment

im-ˈpri-zᵊn-mənt 

noun

Synonyms of imprison

• jail
• incarcerate

Examples of imprison in a Sentence

He was imprisoned for murder.

He has threatened to imprison his political opponents.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hitler was arrested within days, tried and imprisoned for treason. —Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 8 Nov. 2025

Unlike her previous detention, when she was permitted to reside at home and allowed some communication with family, she is now imprisoned in an unknown location. —Kim Aris, Time, 7 Nov. 2025

The director, an Iranian dissident who was imprisoned in her home country and now lives in France, also started her career as a photographer. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025

Some years after defeating Ganon, Link and Zelda stumble across an underground tomb where the decrepit corpse of the villain’s human form, Ganondorf (played again by Critical Role’s Matt Mercer), is imprisoned. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French emprisoner, from en- + prison prison

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for imprison

• arisen
• kisan
• mizzen
• nisan
• prison
• risen

Kids Definition

imprison

verb

im·​pris·​on im-ˈpriz-ᵊn 

imprisoned; imprisoning

-ˈpriz-(ə-)niŋ

: to put in or as if in prison

imprisonment

-ˈpriz-ən-mənt 

noun

Legal Definition

imprison

transitive verb

im·​pris·​on

: to confine in prison especially as punishment for a crime compare false imprisonment

imprisonment noun