internment

noun

in-ˈtərn-mənt How to pronounce internment (audio)
Definition of internmentnext
as in captivity
the act of confining or the state of being confined the internment of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II is one of the more shameful chapters in United States history

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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 internment While the boys were raised in Hiroshima, their parents and new baby brother were sent to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona, as the fighting continued. — Rina Nakano, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026 Established in 1855 as a military post to fight against the Mescalero Apache, the fort went on to play a minor role in the Civil War and later served as a tuberculosis sanitorium and a World War II internment camp. — Allison Savage Bates, Denver Post, 19 July 2026 But the vastly different conditions under which these objects were produced—at an internment camp and a Pennsylvania estate—expose the striated reality behind that iconography. — Cat Dawson, ARTnews.com, 3 July 2026 During the special, Klepper travels to a peaceful nude bike rally against ICE internment camps holding people without due process. — Michael Schneider, Variety, 15 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for internment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for internment
  1. captivity
  2. incarceration
  3. imprisonment
  4. confinement
  5. prison
Noun
  • Rescue tells the story of Roro, a Yemeni mother of young children fighting to reunite her family after a Mediterranean rescue operation left her separated from her husband and held in captivity in Libya.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Even more surprisingly, the 24-year-old doe that lived in captivity in Kerr Wildlife Management Area actually birthed a fawn in her final year.
    — Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of captivity
Noun
  • Daniel Macallair is the executive director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to reduce society’s reliance on incarceration.
    — Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Jeff Maiorca, 53, was arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held in a San Bernardino County jail without bail, according to incarceration records.
    — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of incarceration
Noun
  • Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s top-secret doc is 174 minutes and follows Theranos founder and fraudster Elizabeth Holmes in her final days of freedom and first few weeks of imprisonment.
    — Isabelle Farina, Variety, 23 Sep. 2026
  • According to the department, this includes minimum fines of $2,000 or imprisonment in county jail for no less than 10 days, or both fine and imprisonment.
    — Josh Kelly, Oklahoman, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of imprisonment
Noun
  • Brown’s attorney, Ellen Comley, asked that he be sentenced to probation and home confinement.
    — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The first year was to be served in home confinement without electronic monitoring.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of confinement
Noun
  • Federal probation officials are recommending 24 months in prison.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Unflinching, the documentary does not shy away from addressing the critics’ panning of much of McCartney’s solo work, the murder of John Lennon, his brief stint in a Japanese prison and his bold choice to sue the Beatles.
    — Kristin Robinson, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of prison

Browse Nearby Words

internists
internment
internments
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Cite this Entry

“Internment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/internment. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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