Imprisonment Meaning
/ɪmˈpɹɪzn̩.mənt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA confinement in a place, especially a prison or a jail, especially as punishment for a crime.
Sentence Examples
Such an offence is punished by a fine and/or imprisonment.
Having been convicted of murder, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The judge sentenced the convicted criminal to three years of imprisonment.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The judge sentenced the criminal to ten years of ____ in a maximum security prison.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The judge sentenced the convicted thief to ten years of ____ in a high-security facility.
Word Origin & History
From Anglo-Norman emprisonement, from Old French emprisonnement. See imprison + -ment.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"His sinews woxen weake and raw / Through long emprisonment and hard constraint."
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 2:
"Every confinement of the person is an imprisonment, whether it be in a common prison, or in a private house, or even by forcibly detaining one in the public streets."
— 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:
"Oh, by what plots, by what forswearings, betrayings, oppressions, imprisonments, tortures, poisonings, and under what reasons of state and politic subtilty, have these forenamed kings […] pulled the vengeance of God upon themselves […]"
— 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):
"Human rights organisations say many experience imprisonment and beatings along the way."
— 2023 August 21, Paul Adams, “Hundreds of migrants killed by Saudi border guards - report”, in BBC, archived from the original on 03 Feb 2024:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The judge sentenced the criminal to ten years of ____ in a maximum security prison.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The judge sentenced the convicted thief to ten years of ____ in a high-security facility.