Just as English is full of nouns referring to places where prisoners are confined, from the familiar (jail and prison) to the obscure (calaboose and bridewell), so we have multiple verbs for the action of putting people behind bars. Some words can be used as both nouns and verbs, if in slightly different forms: one can be jailed in a jail, imprisoned in a prison, locked up in a lockup, or even jugged in a jug. Incarcerate does not have such a noun equivalent in English—incarceration refers to the state of confinement rather than a physical structure—but it comes ultimately from the Latin noun carcer, meaning “prison.” Incarcerate is also on the formal end of the spectrum when it comes to words related to the law and criminal justice, meaning you are more likely to read or hear about someone incarcerated in a penitentiary or detention center than in the pokey or hoosegow.
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Whitfield, who is portrayed in the film by Leading Actor BAFTA nominee Colman Domingo and turns up in a cameo, was incarcerated for almost 25 years at the prison and also released in 2012.—Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2025 Now, Mackie is joined by his very own Falcon, Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres), and his pal, formerly wrongfully incarcerated Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly).—Rebecca Aizin, People.com, 15 Feb. 2025 Currently, Amanda is incarcerated at a Residential Reentry Management (RRM) facility in Long Beach, California—a sort of halfway house to transition to life outside of prison.—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2025 Combs has been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY, since his arrest on September 16, 2024.—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for incarcerate
Word History
Etymology
Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- + carcer prison
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