incarceration

noun

in·​car·​cer·​a·​tion (ˌ)in-ˌkär-sə-ˈrā-shən How to pronounce incarceration (audio)
plural incarcerations
: confinement in a jail or prison : the act of imprisoning someone or the state of being imprisoned
Despite the drop in crime in past decades, rates of arrest and incarceration in New York City have not gone down.Robin Steinberg
To this day, the Supreme Court has not overruled its infamous Korematsu opinion of 1944, which validated our mass incarceration in deference to national security.George Takei

Examples of incarceration in a Sentence

he was bored and frustrated by his incarceration in the quarantine sentenced to six months of incarceration for dealing in narcotics
Recent Examples on the Web Throughout his career as district attorneys of San Francisco and Los Angeles, he’s championed reducing mass incarceration and alternative sentencing measures. Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Oct. 2024 The executive order is part of a larger effort to increase reentry services, which help people transition back to communities after incarceration, during Beshear's second term. Hannah Pinski, The Courier-Journal, 17 Oct. 2024 Chesa Boudin, a reform advocate criticized for his progressive policies on sentencing and incarceration. Defne Karabatur, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2024 Another possible explanation for the gender gaps in Philly, Atlanta and Baltimore is mass incarceration, which has removed hundreds of thousands of men from Black neighborhoods. Noah Bressner, Axios, 17 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for incarceration 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incarceration.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1540, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of incarceration was circa 1540

Dictionary Entries Near incarceration

Cite this Entry

“Incarceration.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarceration. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Medical Definition

incarceration

noun
in·​car·​cer·​a·​tion in-ˌkär-sə-ˈrā-shən How to pronounce incarceration (audio)
1
: a confining or state of being confined
2
: abnormal retention or confinement of a body part
specifically : a constriction of the neck of a hernial sac so that the hernial contents become irreducible

More from Merriam-Webster on incarceration

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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