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Just as English is full of nouns referring to places where prisoners are confined, from the familiar (jail and prison) to the obscure (calaboose and bridewell), so we have multiple verbs for the action of putting people behind bars. Some words can be used as both nouns and verbs, if in slightly different forms: one can be jailed in a jail, imprisoned in a prison, locked up in a lockup, or even jugged in a jug. Incarcerate does not have such a noun equivalent in English—incarceration refers to the state of confinement rather than a physical structure—but it comes ultimately from the Latin noun carcer, meaning “prison.” Incarcerate is also on the formal end of the spectrum when it comes to words related to the law and criminal justice, meaning you are more likely to read or hear about someone incarcerated in a penitentiary or detention center than in the pokey or hoosegow.
Examples of incarcerate in a Sentence
Bill Bowden, Arkansas Online, 27 June 2025
Max Ludwig Nansen, a Fictional Painter Turned Martyr Set in Germany in the 1950s, the novel is told through the eyes of Siggi, a young man incarcerated in a prison for delinquent youths.
—Ombline Damy, JSTOR Daily, 26 June 2025
Raymond Santana, one of five teenagers wrongfully incarcerated for the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger, was trailing three front-runners as of about 10 p.m..
—Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 25 June 2025
Medina had been incarcerated in the custody of the New York Department of Corrections in connection with unrelated crimes and was turned over upon being released, Boislard said.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for incarcerate
Cite this Entry
“Incarcerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarcerate. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incarcerate
verb
Legal Definition
incarcerate
transitive verb
Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- in + carcer prison
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