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

• 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

Transporting immigrants just released from incarceration helped solve a problem for ICE. —Idaho Statesman, 4 Sep. 2025

The new episode will also chronicle Syed’s personal journey from incarceration to freedom, and his eventual reunion with family after 23 years behind bars. —Peter White, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025

The argument for returning to those mass incarceration-causing policies is based in fear and disinformation. —Geordie McClelland, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025

During his call with Thug, 21 noted that the city doesn’t feel the same after so much death and incarceration; more infighting isn’t the remedy. —Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2025

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