past and past participle
Put someone in prison, usually as a legal punishment.
The court imprisoned him for ten years.
Several political leaders were imprisoned.
American English
How to pronounce imprisoned
verb · adjectiveB2
ihmPʰRIHznd
/ɪmˈpʰɹɪ.zn̩d̚/
3 syllables · Stress the second syllable.
Form of imprison
The same spelling is used for the past form and the past participle.
Put someone in prison, usually as a legal punishment.
Practice out loudMeanings & examples
adjective
Kept in prison as a legal punishment.
The imprisoned man had lost all hope.
The imprisoned activists were released after the trial.
past and past participle
Kept someone or something trapped and unable to move or act freely.
Fear imprisoned her in her own home.
The flood imprisoned the villagers in their homes.
adjective
Trapped and unable to move or act freely.
She felt imprisoned by her job.
He seemed imprisoned by his own fears.