incarceration
noun
in·car·cer·a·tion
(ˌ)in-ˌkär-sə-ˈrā-shən 
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
Robin SteinbergTo 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
George TakeiExamples 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
Griffin-Gracy spent more five decades advocating for Black trans women, gender-nonconforming people, trans women who survived incarceration and police brutality, and the AIDS crisis, the post read.
—Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Chamberlain sentenced Siegel to five years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, then suspended execution of the sentence and gave him five years of probation and 60 days of shock incarceration.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2025
The credits lowered Exantus' incarceration period enough for qualification for the program, despite him only serving seven years of his sentence.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 10 Oct. 2025
It was partly inspired by his second incarceration there.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incarceration
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Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Chamberlain sentenced Siegel to five years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, then suspended execution of the sentence and gave him five years of probation and 60 days of shock incarceration.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2025
The credits lowered Exantus' incarceration period enough for qualification for the program, despite him only serving seven years of his sentence.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 10 Oct. 2025
It was partly inspired by his second incarceration there.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incarceration
Cite this Entry
“Incarceration.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarceration. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
incarceration
noun
in·car·cer·a·tion
in-ˌkär-sə-ˈrā-shən
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
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