adjective

incarcerated

in-KAR-suh-ray-tid

Incarcerated (adjective) means Held in a prison or jail. Example: “He was incarcerated for eleven months before the case came to trial.”

adjective

Held in a prison or jail.

"He was incarcerated for eleven months before the case came to trial."

"Programmes exist to help incarcerated parents stay in touch with their children."

verb

Past tense and past participle of incarcerate, meaning to put someone in prison.

"The state incarcerated more people that decade than in the previous three."

"Thousands were incarcerated without charge."

How to Use Incarcerated

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishBeing locked up in prison.

When to use it

Formal; standard in legal, journalistic and academic writing.

Memory tip

Do not confuse incarcerate with interred, which means buried, or interned, which means detained without trial, usually in wartime.

Trace the full origin ↓

Easily confused with

imprisoned detained → interred → interned

Common pairings

wrongfully incarcerated incarcerated population currently incarcerated mass incarceration

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

He was _____ for eleven months before the case came to trial.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin incarcerare, formed from in- 'in' and carcer 'prison'.

Origin: Latin

Synonyms

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imprisoned jailed locked up detained confined

Antonyms

free released at liberty

Related Words

free available published release limited independent democratic dropped

Rhymes for incarcerated

dated sated hated elated heated seated treated related bloated belated prorated agitated

See all rhymes for incarcerated →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between incarcerated and imprisoned?

They mean the same thing, but incarcerated is the broader, more clinical term and covers jails, prisons and other forms of detention. Imprisoned is the plainer English word and usually implies a prison sentence specifically.

Why do people say 'incarcerated person' instead of 'prisoner'?

It is person-first language: it names the situation someone is in rather than defining them by it. Many news organisations and advocacy groups have adopted it deliberately, though 'prisoner' remains standard in legal writing.

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