- (transitive)
to confine in or as if in prison
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
im•pris•on /ɪmˈprɪzən/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- to confine in a prison:They imprisoned him in a dark dungeon.
im•pris•on
(im priz′ən),USA pronunciation v.t.
im•pris′on•a•ble, adj.
im•pris′on•er, n.
im•pris′on•ment, n.
- to confine in or as if in a prison.
- Old French enprisoner, equivalent. to en- en-1 + prison prison + -er infinitive suffix
- Middle English enprisonen 1250–1300
im•pris′on•er, n.
im•pris′on•ment, n.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged incarcerate, jail, restrain.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'imprisoned' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Amnesty International
- Archer
- Baliol
- Cagliostro
- David II
- Djilas
- Eric XIV
- Fotheringhay
- Fouquet
- Fuchs
- Gandhi
- Gang of Four
- Grey
- Herod Agrippa I
- Hiss
- Leven
- Merlin
- Niemöller
- Ossietzky
- Polyphemus
- Pontefract
- Pétain
- Raleigh
- Ratushinskaya
- Reynaud
- Selden
- Smyth
- Southwell
- Tartarus
- Theodorakis
- black hole
- captivity
- commitment
- de Wet
- desaparecido
- hiss
- incarcerate
- political prisoner
- than