Meaning & use
confined
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Meanings
adjectiveafter a verb
Limited to a small or tight space, or unable to leave a place such as a bed, room or building.
Grammar: Usually follows a linking verb and takes to: she was confined to bed.
Patterns
- be confined to something
- confined to a wheelchair
After the operation he was confined to bed for a week.
The prisoners were confined to their cells during the storm.
The cat felt restless, confined to the apartment all day.
adjectiveafter a verb
Restricted to one area, group or topic and not spreading or reaching beyond it.
Grammar: Followed by to: the damage was confined to the roof.
Patterns
- be confined to something
- remain confined to something
The outbreak was confined to a single village.
Her interest is not confined to music; she also paints.
The fire stayed confined to the kitchen.
adjectivebefore a noun
Very small and cramped, leaving little room to move around.
Grammar: Used before a noun, as in a confined space, with no to phrase.
Patterns
- a confined space
- a confined area
Working in a confined space made him nervous.
Fish in such a confined tank grow poorly.
The confined cabin held four bunks and little else.
Common combinations
- confined to bed
- The flu left her confined to bed for days.
- confined to a wheelchair
- After the accident he was confined to a wheelchair for a year.
- a confined space
- Divers are trained to stay calm in a confined space.
- strictly confined
- Access is strictly confined to staff members.
- largely confined to
- The problem is largely confined to older buildings.
Synonyms and how they differ
- restricted
- Restricted stresses limits set by rules or conditions, while confined suggests being held inside a boundary.
- cramped
- Cramped describes only a lack of space, whereas confined can also mean unable to leave.
- limited
- Limited is a general word for any cap on amount or range and carries no sense of being enclosed.
- restrained
- Restrained is about being held back or controlled, often in behaviour, and not about space.
Opposites
Word family
- confine verb
- to keep within limits or inside a place
- confinement noun
- the state of being shut in, as in solitary confinement
- confines noun
- the outer limits of an area or subject
- unconfined adjective
- not limited or held in
Commonly confused: confined or defined?
confined vs defined
Defined means clearly described or outlined; confined means kept within limits. A defined area has clear edges, but a confined area holds someone or something in.
Practice
The infection was ___ to one ward of the hospital and did not spread.
Choose one answer.
Confined to means kept within a limited area. Defined would change the meaning, and contained by cannot be followed by to.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “confined”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.