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

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

Synonyms of incarceration

• captivity
• internment
• imprisonment
• prison
• confinement

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

Growing need, few resources Women’s incarceration rates have grown at twice the pace of men’s in recent decades. — Amber Gaudet july 18, Charlotte Observer, 18 July 2026

Ayón works in Sacramento helping people reintegrate to society after incarceration and is also a student at a community college. — Albinson Linares, NBC news, 18 July 2026

On the night before a big operation, Uncle Rich reminisces with the crew about his first and only incarceration years earlier, for stealing piles of newspapers. — David Hajdu, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026

The multiple perspectives and the weaving of past and present allow the reader to discover both love and its consequence, not to mention its myriad obstacles—politics, incarceration, betrayal. — Literary Hub, 14 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1540, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for incarceration

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Medical 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