Meaning & use
confines
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Meanings
nounplural
The edges of a space, or the enclosed area inside them, especially when it feels restricted.
Grammar: Always plural, usually after within: within the confines of the room.
Patterns
- within the confines of something
- beyond the confines of something
The prisoners rarely left the confines of the courtyard.
Inside the confines of the tiny cabin, there was no room to stretch.
The animals roamed freely beyond the confines of the park.
nounpluralfigurative
The limits set by rules, ideas or circumstances that restrict what can be done or said.
Grammar: Used abstractly: within the confines of the law.
Patterns
- within the confines of something
- outside the confines of something
Within the confines of the budget, we cannot hire more staff.
She wrote poems that pushed against the confines of traditional form.
He felt stifled by the confines of village life.
Common combinations
- within the confines of
- She worked within the confines of a tight deadline.
- narrow confines
- They lived in the narrow confines of a one-room flat.
- beyond the confines of
- His ideas reached beyond the confines of the classroom.
- escape the confines of
- The band wanted to escape the confines of one genre.
- the confines of the law
- The police must act within the confines of the law.
Synonyms and how they differ
- limits
- Limits is plainer and can be singular, while confines suggests a sense of being closed in.
- boundaries
- Boundaries describes lines you cross, while confines stresses the space inside them.
- restrictions
- Restrictions are rules placed on you, whereas confines can be physical or abstract.
- bounds
- Bounds appears in set phrases like out of bounds and is slightly more neutral.
Opposites
Word family
- confine verb
- to keep someone or something within limits or in a space
- confined adjective
- limited or enclosed, as in a confined space
- confinement noun
- the state of being shut in or restricted
Commonly confused: confines or confine? confines or confide?
confines vs confine
Confine is the verb, as in confine the discussion; confines is the plural noun for the limits themselves.
confines vs confide
Confide means to tell a secret to someone you trust and is unrelated to limits.
Practice
Which sentence uses confines correctly?
Choose one answer.
Confines is a plural noun meaning limits, usually after within. The first has the wrong verb agreement, the third uses it as a verb incorrectly, and the fourth gives it a meaning it does not have.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “confines”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.