Dictionary

imprison en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ɪmˈpɹɪzən/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Old French en- Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i? Proto-Italic *prai Proto-Italic *prai- Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *-ti Proto-Indo-European *gʰnédti Proto-Italic *hendō Proto-Italic *praiɣendō Latin prehendō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin prehēnsiō Old French prison Proto-Italic *-āzi ▲ Latin -ereinflu. Latin -āre Old French -er Old French emprisonnerbor. Middle English emprisonen Middle English imprisonen English imprison Inherited from Middle English imprisonen, emprisounen, emprisonen, from Old French emprisonner. Equivalent to im- + prison.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To put in or as if in prison; confine somebody against their will.
   • None of these people has ever had what they really wanted, and if they get a glimmer of it, they back off suspiciously, failures of imagination helping to imprison them further. 1985 December 21, Mara Math, “Fen (review)”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 23, page 15:
   • [...] demand for the boots fell sharply after the Battle of Waterloo, and Brunel was imprisoned for debt in 1821. 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 87:
   • One of the village's most notable sons was Thomas Grantham, a Baptist church leader born in 1634, who was persecuted and imprisoned in the struggle for nonconformist beliefs during the reign of Charles II. 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 214, about Halton Holegate:

Forms

Deriveds

disimprison · imprisoner · unimprison · imprisonable · reimprison · imprisonment

Hypernyms

punish · detain · restrain

Relateds

be in for · behind bars · prisoner · prison · sent to the Tower

Synonyms

bang up · imprison · lock up · roof · immure · confine · put away · send down · clap up · send to the Tower · mew up · incarcerate · bastille · gaol · jail

Translations (82)

cmn 囚禁 (put in prison) · mn хорих (put in prison) · nrf mettre en prison (put in prison) · pt aprisionar (put in prison) · pt encarcerar (put in prison) · gv pryssoonee (put in prison) · sk väzniť (put in prison) · no fengsle (put in prison) · ru сажа́ть в тюрьму́ (put in prison) · cy carcharu (put in prison) · ckt ёк (put in prison) · sce kha (put in prison) · haw hoʻopaʻahao (put in prison) · arz حبس (put in prison) · de einkerkern (put in prison) · gv cur ayns pryssoon (put in prison) · eo malliberigi (put in prison) · mk за́твора (put in prison) · ko 투옥(投獄)하다 (put in prison) · ar حَبَسَ (put in prison) · cs věznit (put in prison) · sv fängsla (put in prison) · mi whakaherehere (put in prison) · vi bỏ tù (put in prison) · ro închide (put in prison) · cho yukachi (put in prison) · th จำคุก (put in prison) · wa reclôre (put in prison) · cmn 關押 /关押 (put in prison) · fi vangita (put in prison) · ja 刑務所に入れる (put in prison) · hu bebörtönöz (put in prison) · ga cuir i bpríosún (put in prison) · uk ув'язни́ти (put in prison) · cs uvěznit (put in prison) · ro încarcera (put in prison) · ang hæftan (put in prison) · ga cuir i ngéibheann (put in prison) · hy բանտարկել (put in prison) · ang ġefæstnian (put in prison) · es encarcelar (put in prison) · el φυλακίζω (put in prison) · sq burgos (put in prison) · ru заключа́ть в тюрьму́ (put in prison) · ja 閉じ込める (put in prison) · th ขัง (put in prison) · pl uwięzić (put in prison) · grc φυλακίζω (put in prison) · uk ув'я́знювати (put in prison) · pt prender (put in prison) · ja 投獄する (put in prison) · eo enprizonigi (put in prison) · ro întemnița (put in prison) · mi mauhere (put in prison) · wa eprijhner (put in prison) · bg опандизвам (put in prison) · cmn 下獄 /下狱 (put in prison) · ca empresonar (put in prison) · ary تحبس (put in prison) · vo fanäböpön (put in prison) · id memenjarakan (put in prison) · da fængsle (put in prison) · fr emprisonner (put in prison) · cmn 監禁 /监禁 (put in prison) · pl więzić (put in prison) · hy կալանավորել (put in prison) · it imprigionare (put in prison) · de einsperren (put in prison) · ar سَجَنَ (put in prison) · chr ᎠᏍᏚᎲᏍᎦ (put in prison) · sk uväzniť (put in prison) · sw -funga (put in prison) · wa egayoler (put in prison) · vo fanäbükön (put in prison) · wa resserer (put in prison) · ru лиша́ть свобо́ды (put in prison) · it incarcerare (put in prison) · es aprisionar (put in prison) · fro anprisoner (put in prison) · fr mettre en prison (put in prison) · is fangelsa (put in prison) · ast encarcelar (put in prison)