incarcerated 1 of 2

adjective

in-ˈkär-sə-ˌrā-təd How to pronounce incarcerated (audio)
Definition of incarceratednext
as in imprisoned
taken and held prisoner incarcerated residents of that state are still allowed to vote in elections

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

incarcerated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of incarcerate
as in jailed
to put in or as if in prison the state incarcerated over 1900 people last year

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of incarcerated
Adjective
That does not mean every incarcerated person should become religious. — Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026 Twenty years after enactment, the DOJ said in a 2020 report, some institutions continue to impose substantial burdens on incarcerated people who are following the tenets of their religion. — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 23 June 2026
Verb
A lot of people that came here that were committing crimes have either been incarcerated or deported. — Lauren Peller, ABC News, 8 July 2026 Morris went bankrupt, spectacularly, and spent the years 1798 to 1801 incarcerated in a Philadelphia debtors’ prison. — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for incarcerated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incarcerated
  1. imprisoned
  2. jailed
  3. captive
  4. interned
Adjective
  • Fujimori, the daughter of a disgraced former president, and Sánchez, an ally of an imprisoned ex-president, beat 33 other candidates in the initial vote in April, but neither earned even 20% of support.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 June 2026
  • Fujimori, daughter of a disgraced former president, and Sánchez, an ally of an imprisoned ex-president, were on the runoff’s ballot after beating 33 other candidates in the vote in April, but neither earned even 20% of support.
    — Franklin Briceño, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
Definition of imprisoned
Verb
  • Williams, who was arrested and jailed in connection with each of these encampment sweeps, became part of this huge minority in local jails.
    — Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
  • Hundreds of people have been jailed and thousands of others have fled the country.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 July 2026
Definition of jailed
Adjective
  • But some of the most poignant narratives come from Trojan women like Creusa, wife of Aeneas who escapes Troy and becomes a founding father for Rome, and Hector’s wife, Andromache, who is taken as a war captive by Achilles’s son.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 July 2026
  • Meanwhile, their son Telemachus is told by the goddess Athena (Zendaya) to seek news of his father and learns Odysseus is alive, but held captive by a nymph (Charlize Theron).
    — Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026
Definition of captive
Verb
  • One of our young people in Tulsa, Oklahoma, interned at a company in their risk management department.
    — Byron V. Garrett, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • Truell, a New York City native, interned at Google, while Sanger, a member of MIT’s squash team, interned at Bridgewater Associates.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 17 June 2026
Definition of interned

Browse Nearby Words

incarcerate
incarcerated
incarcerates
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Incarcerated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incarcerated. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on incarcerated

Nglish: Translation of incarcerated for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dog days

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All