LOCKED (UP) Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

locked (up)

verb

past tense of lock (up)

as in imprisoned

to put in or as if in prison if they catch you, they're going to lock you up and throw away the key!

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for locked (up)

Verb

Stacy Keach, an American stage actor who became best known for playing scruffy private eye Mike Hammer on TV and whose career was nearly derailed after he was imprisoned in 1984 for trying to smuggle cocaine into Britain, died Tuesday.

— MARK KENNEDY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Arkansas Online, 12 Nov. 2026
The ghostly glimpse of an alternate future for the Cratchit family, imprisoned and desolate, feels truer to Dickens than the glib sentimentality of Tiny Tim’s empty place at the family hearth.

— Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2026

Definition of imprisoned

Verb

Daniel Ojukwu, with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, or FIJ, a local investigative media house, was jailed on a 12-count charge accusing him of violating the country's cybercrime act, pending a bail hearing.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Nov. 2026
Russell Brand had been free during the trial but was jailed following Thursday’s verdict.

— Brian Melley, Chicago Tribune, 9 Nov. 2026

Definition of jailed

Verb

Meanwhile, more than 2,000 Jews from Radun and neighboring villages were interned in a ghetto; most were killed by the Germans and local police.

— Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 3 Nov. 2026
Thai has interned at The Boston Globe, the Des Moines Register and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and her reporting has been published in dozens of newspapers across the country.

— Talia Buford, ProPublica, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of interned

Verb

Former Oklahoma death row prisoner Richard Glossip, who spent nearly 30 years incarcerated and was on the brink of execution three times for a 1997 murder, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, his attorney said Thursday.

— ABC News, ABC News, 12 Nov. 2026
Former Oklahoma death row prisoner Richard Glossip, who spent nearly 30 years incarcerated and was on the brink of execution three times for a 1997 killing, pleaded guilty to a lesser accessory charge, his attorney said Thursday.

— CBS News, CBS News, 12 Nov. 2026

Definition of incarcerated

Verb

When Costa Rican authorities arrived, Van Dyke and Arroyo appeared to have been confined in a single room by two armed male assailants, SURFER reported.

— Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2026
Initial damage from the Hillsdale Lake tornado was confined to the campground and park headquarters.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 12 Nov. 2026

Definition of confined

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.

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locked out

locked (up)

locker

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“Locked (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/locked%20%28up%29. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of locked (up)

verb

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