Synonyms of incarcerating

incarcerating

verb

present participle of incarcerate

as in imprisoning

to put in or as if in prison

the state incarcerated over 1900 people last year

Synonyms & Similar Words

• imprisoning
• jailing
• interning
• detaining
• confining
• arresting
• committing
• restraining
• locking (up)
• catching
• capturing
• restricting
• shutting
• apprehending
• limiting
• jugging
• immuring
• constraining
• seizing
• barring
• gating
• keeping
• impounding
• holding
• impressing
• pinching
• handcuffing
• binding
• nabbing
• busting
• shackling
• shanghaiing
• picking up
• fettering
• enchaining
• trammeling
• manacling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• freeing
• discharging
• liberating
• releasing
• emancipating
• enfranchising
• manumitting
• unchaining
• unbinding
• unfettering
• uncaging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of incarcerating

The goal is to reduce violence, get people proper resources, and avoid the cycle of incarcerating people dealing with poverty, addiction, and mental health. — Scott Maucione, NPR, 27 July 2026

Officials reinforced stay-at-home orders by erecting fences around some apartment buildings, essentially incarcerating occupants. — Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2026

In 1942, as the government was forcibly relocating and incarcerating Japanese Americans on the West Coast, a nativist group hoped to revoke the citizenship of Japanese Americans born in the United States. — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2026

The governor’s bill would require any state agency charged with incarcerating people to follow the standards outlined in the federal law. — Emilia Otte, Hartford Courant, 20 Feb. 2026