incarcerate
(transitive) To confine; to shut up or enclose; to hem in.
Etymology timeline
Born ~1528 · 1 year of recorded useSeen in the wild
Impeach, convict, incarcerate. Hold each and every one accountable.
I will take many Congresses to clean up this traitorous mess. We have to make sure Democrats stay in control for years or they will just start up their treason again. Nuremburg 2.0. Prosecute and incarcerate for year…
... "kill" or, worse, have a reason to incarcerate millions of Americans... to continue building on Reagan's legacy of distroying the American mental healthcare system, and dumping it's participants in the streets or…
Was replying to person who said use the money to prosecute and incarcerate the criminals running the government.
Definitions
(transitive) To confine; to shut up or enclose; to hem in.
In 2021, a judge found that Angola was providing inadequate medical care to its incarcerated population.
Comments
(chiefly, US, transitive, ) To lock away; to imprison, especially for breaking the law.
"incarcerate" means: To lock away; to imprison, especially for breaking the law.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
"incarcerate" means: To lock away; to imprison, especially for breaking the law.. Register: neutral, standard English, usable in most everyday contexts. Note the regional or dialect label (US) — usage may sound odd outside that variety. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
“Impeach, convict, incarcerate. Hold each and every one accountable.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I will take many Congresses to clean up this traitorous mess. We have to make sure Democrats stay in control for years or they will just start up their treason again. Nuremburg 2.0. Prosecute and incarcerate for years. No mercy, no pardons. Start at the top.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“... "kill" or, worse, have a reason to incarcerate millions of Americans... to continue building on Reagan's legacy of distroying the American mental healthcare system, and dumping it's participants in the streets or prisons.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Was replying to person who said use the money to prosecute and incarcerate the criminals running the government.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(> as a participle, > as a participial adjective) Incarcerated: jailed, imprisoned, confined, shut in.
Mr. Vanſe, Keeper of the Tolbooth, did give in a Bill, repreſenting, That there being ſo great a number of Priſoners, upon account of Conventicles, and for Criminal Cauſes, and the ſaid Captain being incarcerate, not for a Crime, but for…
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