1
as in captivity
the act of confining or the state of being confined
he was bored and frustrated by his incarceration in the quarantine
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imprisonment
the state of being held in lawful custody
sentenced to six months of incarceration for dealing in narcotics
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of incarceration
Prosecutors asked for the statutory maximum that the court could give, which was one year of incarceration and a protective order.
—
Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 19 Apr. 2026
Following Villegas’ arrest Thursday, Tolchin filed a habeas petition in federal court, challenging his incarceration and demanding his immediate release.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
What that looks like is people who should be receiving treatment, and services and support, instead facing arrest, incarceration, and police violence.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026
More than 700 defendants completed their sentences or did not receive sentences of incarceration.
—Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incarceration
Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 19 Apr. 2026
Following Villegas’ arrest Thursday, Tolchin filed a habeas petition in federal court, challenging his incarceration and demanding his immediate release.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
What that looks like is people who should be receiving treatment, and services and support, instead facing arrest, incarceration, and police violence.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026
More than 700 defendants completed their sentences or did not receive sentences of incarceration.
—Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incarceration
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incarceration
Noun
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Neukgu, born in captivity in 2024, is part of a breeding program to bring up the numbers of the Korean wolf, which is considered extinct in the wild.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
17 Apr. 2026
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Kids — and even adults — plied me with questions about what happened during those three long days of captivity.—
Midsi Sanchez,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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There are countless cases in which federal courts found harsh and inadequate conditions of imprisonment that violate the Constitution.—
Erwin Chemerinsky,
Mercury News,
14 Apr. 2026
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Tarrio was notably sentenced to the longest term of imprisonment among all of the nearly 1,600 individuals charged in connection with the attack.—
Alexander Mallin,
ABC News,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Though ostracized in their time, people who resisted internment are now seen as civil-rights pioneers.—
Hua Hsu,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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The Chinese government launched a brutal crackdown in Xinjiang starting in 2017, sweeping a million or more Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other predominantly Muslim ethnicities into prisons and internment camps.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Hoshieh says one of her sons was killed by Israeli military gunfire in January 2023, while a second is held in Israeli administrative detention.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
21 Apr. 2026
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Ruben has spent two years at a juvenile detention facility, and Niall doesn’t want him as a classmate.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Householder is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2023 of orchestrating the scheme, which FirstEnergy has admitted to underwriting.—
Julie Carr Smyth,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2026
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Ware is being held at the Clay County Detention Center while awaiting trial, and his escape resulted in an additional charge of felony prison breach and escape, jail records show.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Investigations following a Russian drone strike in 2025 indicate that the NSC’s specialized confinement functions are now compromised.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Apr. 2026
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Two years later, at age 19, Holmes and Alexander pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, receiving terms of confinement that can go no later than their 25th birthdays, court records show.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Incarceration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incarceration. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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