noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ɪŋˌkɑː(ɹ)səˈɹeɪʃən/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -eɪʃən
CMU ARPABET:IH2 N K AA2 R S ER0 EY1 SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A strangulation, as in a hernia.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, dated, uncountable
Topics: medicine, sciences, surgery
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A constriction of the hernial sac, rendering it irreducible, but not great enough to cause strangulation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
the state of being imprisoned
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
he was held in captivity until he died
the imprisonment of captured soldiers
his ignominious incarceration in the local jail
he practiced the immurement of his enemies in the castle dungeon
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: captivity, imprisonment, immurement
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: confinement
Narrower terms: durance, life imprisonment, internment
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin incarcerātiō, equivalent to incarcerate + -ion.
Across languages
Translations
31 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
բանտարկություն
(bantarkutʻyun)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Azerbaijani:
azadlıqdan məhrumetmə
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Catalan:
encarcerament
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Chinese Mandarin:
下獄 /下狱
(xiàyù)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Chinese Mandarin:
監禁 /监禁
(jiānjìn)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Chinese Mandarin:
有期徒刑
(yǒuqí túxíng)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Czech:
věznění
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Finnish:
vangitseminen
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
French:
incarcération
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
German:
Einkerkerung
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Greek:
φυλάκιση
(fylákisi)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Hebrew:
מַאֲסָר
(ma'asár)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Indonesian:
hukuman penjara
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Italian:
incarcerazione
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Japanese:
投獄
(tōgoku)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Malayalam:
ബന്ധനം
(bandhanaṁ)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Malayalam:
ജയിൽ വാസം
(jayil vāsaṁ)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Malayalam:
ജയിലിലാക്കല്
(jayililākkal)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Persian:
حبس
(habs)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Polish:
inkarceracja
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Polish:
pozbawienie wolności
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Portuguese:
encarceramento
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Russian:
лише́ние свобо́ды
(lišénije svobódy)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Russian:
заключе́ние
(zaključénije)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Spanish:
encarcelación
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Spanish:
encarcelamiento
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Spanish:
carcelazo
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Ukrainian:
ув'язнення
(uvʺjaznennja)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Ukrainian:
позба́влення во́лі
(pozbávlennja vóli)
— act of confining, or the state of being confined; imprisonment — see also imprisonment
Czech:
zauzlení
— formerly, strangulation, as in hernia
Finnish:
kurouma
— constriction of the hernial sac
