imprisonment

imprisonment — noun

1. the legal punishment of being confined inside a prison for committing a crime, o

1.nounB2
Definition

the legal punishment of being confined inside a prison for committing a crime, or the length of time a person serves this punishment

Example

Amani was sentenced to five years of imprisonment for the bank robbery.

sentence + to + imprisonment — legal phrasing

The judge reduced Ramón's sentence from life imprisonment to twenty years.

Common collocations
  • life imprisonment
  • false imprisonment
  • wrongful imprisonment
  • unjust imprisonment
  • term of imprisonment
  • sentence of imprisonment
  • imprisonment for a crime
  • imprisonment without trial
Synonyms
  • incarceration

    more formal, used mainly in legal, medical, and academic writing

  • confinement

    broader in meaning — can refer to restriction in any space, not just prison

  • custody

    implies being held by authorities, often before trial rather than as punishment

  • detention

    usually temporary or pre-trial, shorter in duration than imprisonment

Antonyms
  • freedom

    the state of not being confined or restricted

  • release

    the act of ending a period of imprisonment

Grammar Patterns

imprisonment for + crime/period

imprisonment of + person

sentence + of + imprisonment

Usage Note

Imprisonment is a formal noun most common in legal documents, news reports, and official writing. In everyday conversation, speakers typically use 'prison' or 'jail' instead — for example, 'He did five years in prison' rather than 'He experienced five years of imprisonment.' When referring to a specific type of confinement, common compounds include 'life imprisonment,' 'false imprisonment,' and 'wrongful imprisonment.'

Common Mistakes

The judge sent him to imprisonment for five years.
The judge sentenced him to five years of imprisonment.
'imprisonment' describes a legal status or period, not a physical location; use 'sentence + to + imprisonment' or 'prison/jail' for the place.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Imprisonment is the most general term among these related words, covering any situation in which a person is confined in a prison as legal punishment. Incarceration is a more formal synonym, used mainly in legal, medical, and academic writing — a research report might discuss 'rates of incarceration,' whereas a news article might say 'the activist faces imprisonment.' Confinement is the broadest of the four, applying to any restriction of movement whether in a prison, a hospital, or a small room (e.g., 'solitary confinement'). Detention refers to temporary custody, often before a trial or for short periods, such as the detention of a suspect for questioning. In everyday speech, none of these terms is very common; speakers usually say 'prison' or 'jail' instead: 'He spent five years in prison' sounds natural, while 'He experienced five years of imprisonment' sounds stiff.

imprisonment ↗incarcerationconfinementdetention ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • false imprisonment
  • wrongful imprisonment
  • unjust imprisonment
  • life imprisonment
  • term of imprisonment

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

From Old French emprisonement, formed from the prefix em- ('in, into') and prison ('prison'). The word entered English in the late 1300s, gradually replacing older terms for captivity. The root prison itself traces back to Latin prensio, meaning 'a seizing or capturing,' which gave rise to the French word prise ('a taking hold of').