Meaning & use
imprison
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To put someone in a prison or jail as a punishment.
Grammar: Takes an object: imprison the thief. Often used in the passive: He was imprisoned for fraud.
Patterns
- imprison someone
- be imprisoned for something
- imprison someone in a place
The court decided to imprison the gang leader for ten years.
She was imprisoned for a crime she did not commit.
The rebels imprisoned the journalists in a small cell.
verbtransitivefigurative
To limit someone's freedom or trap them in a situation, as if in a prison.
Grammar: Takes an object; often used figuratively with feelings or conditions: Fear imprisoned him.
Patterns
- imprison someone in something
- be imprisoned by something
His fear of failure imprisoned him in a job he hated.
She felt imprisoned by the endless rules of the community.
Word forms
| third person singular | imprisons |
|---|---|
| past tense | imprisoned |
| past participle | imprisoned |
| -ing form | imprisoning |
Common combinations
- imprison someone for life
- The judge can imprison someone for life for that offence.
- be imprisoned for a crime
- He was imprisoned for a crime he always denied.
- imprison someone without trial
- The government was accused of imprisoning people without trial.
- feel imprisoned by something
- Many workers feel imprisoned by their debts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- jail
- Jail is the everyday verb for putting someone in prison, often for a short time; imprison is more formal and can also be figurative.
- incarcerate
- Incarcerate is a formal, technical term used in law and official reports; imprison is more general and can be used figuratively.
- confine
- Confine means to keep someone in a limited space, not necessarily a prison; imprison specifically suggests prison or loss of freedom.
Opposites
Word family
- imprisonment noun
- The act of putting someone in prison or the state of being in prison.
- prison noun
- A building where people are kept as punishment for crimes.
- prisoner noun
- A person kept in prison or captured.
Commonly confused: imprison or prison?
imprison vs prison
Prison is the place or the state; imprison is the verb meaning to put someone there. Say 'He was sent to prison', not 'He was imprisoned to prison'.
Practice
The dictator ______ his critics for many years.
Choose one answer.
The past tense 'imprisoned' fits the past time 'for many years'. 'Imprisonment' is a noun, 'imprisoning' would need a helping verb, and 'imprison' is the base form, which does not match the past tense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “imprison”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.