Incarceration
[ɪnˌkɑːrsəˈreɪʃən]
Definitions
The act of putting or the state of being put in prison; imprisonment.
[ɪnˌkɑːrsəˈreɪʃən]
The state of being imprisoned.
The judge ordered the defendant's incarceration for five years.
💡 Simply: Imagine someone gets in trouble and has to go to jail. Incarceration is the official word for being locked up there. Like, 'The person's incarceration lasted five years.'
👶 For kids: Being locked up in jail.
More Examples
The rate of incarceration in the country is alarmingly high.
Many families struggle financially due to a loved one's incarceration.
How It's Used
"The suspect's incarceration was a result of the court's decision."
"Researchers studied the impact of incarceration on family dynamics."
Idioms & expressions
length of incarceration
The duration of time spent in prison.
"The judge considered the length of the incarceration when determining the sentence."
mass incarceration
The imprisonment of a very large number of people.
"The debate over mass incarceration has become a key political issue."
From Medieval Latin *incarceratio*, from *incarcerare* ('to imprison'), from *in-* ('in') + *carcer* ('prison').
The word has been used in legal and social contexts for centuries, reflecting changing views on punishment and rehabilitation.
Memory tip
Think of a car in a garage - it's in car-cer-ation! It is the act of being put in a prison.