imprison
gb/ɪmpɹˈɪzən/ us/ɪmpɹˈɪzən/
B2
Anglais
~ 8000
Sens
0 sens
Verbe
B2
action
1
put someone in prison
to put someone in prison and not let them leave
Schéma d’usage :
to imprison [someone] for [a crime]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes say *"He was prisoned"* instead of *"He was imprisoned"*. Remember that *prison* is usually a noun, and the correct verb is *imprison*. Also, instead of saying *"They put him in the prison"*, it is more natural to say *"They imprisoned him"* or *"They put him in prison"* (without *the*).
Synonymes
jail (More informal and common in everyday speech; can be used as both noun and verb, whereas 'imprison' is slightly more formal and legal-sounding.)
Antonymes
release (Means to set someone free from prison or detention, the opposite of putting them there.)
Collocations
imprison [someone] for life
|wrongly imprisoned
|imprison without trial
|imprison political opponents
|imprison [someone] on charges of
|be imprisoned for [a crime]
Thèmes
law
|crime
|justice
Exemples
- The court decided to imprison him for ten years for armed robbery.
- Journalists reported that the regime would often imprison political opponents without a fair trial.
- She was imprisoned for fraud after a long investigation.
- They threatened to imprison anyone who broke the curfew.
- He was wrongly imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.
Exemples pédagogiques
- The judge will imprison the man for five years.
- The police imprisoned the thief after the trial.
- Many people were imprisoned during the war.
- He was imprisoned for a crime he did not do.
- They want to imprison people who are very dangerous.
Verbe
C1
action
2
trap or confine, not in prison
to keep a person or thing so they cannot move or live freely, sometimes in a non-physical or emotional way
Schéma d’usage :
to imprison [someone/something] in [a situation/place]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners may overuse this figurative sense and create unnatural sentences, such as *"The long class imprisoned me"*. In many cases, it is more natural to say *"The long class bored me"* or *"I felt stuck in the long class"*. Use figurative *imprison* when the loss of freedom is strong and serious, not just mildly unpleasant.
Synonymes
trap (Suggests being caught so you cannot escape; less formal and often used for both physical and non-physical situations.)
Antonymes
liberate (Formal verb meaning to set someone free from control or limitation, especially social or emotional; contrasts with being emotionally or socially imprisoned.)
Collocations
imprison someone in their own home
|imprison someone in a cage
|imprison someone in a relationship
|imprisoned by fear
|imprisoned in poverty
Thèmes
emotions
|society
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- After the accident, she felt imprisoned in her own home, unable to go anywhere alone.
- Many people feel imprisoned by debt and constant financial pressure.
- The character in the novel is emotionally imprisoned by his fear of failure.
- Strict family rules can sometimes imprison teenagers in a life they did not choose.
- The small bird looked completely imprisoned in the narrow metal cage.
Exemples pédagogiques
- He felt imprisoned by his job and wanted a new life.
- She was imprisoned in her room because the door was stuck.
- Many people are imprisoned in bad relationships.
- The dog was imprisoned in a small box.
- She said her fear of flying imprisoned her at home.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
imprison
API
GB/ɪmpɹˈɪzən/
US/ɪmpɹˈɪzən/
Syllabes et accentuation
im - pris - on (3 syllabes)
Stress on 2nd syllable (pris)
Formes du mot
Verb
- Base: imprison
- 3rd Person Singular: imprisons
- Present Participle: imprisoning
- Past: imprisoned
Famille de mots
Forms
imprisons
verb
imprisoning
verb
imprisoned
verb
Core family
Advanced or less common
imprisoner
noun
Expressions
Aucune expression n’est encore associée à cette entrée.