putting someone in prison or in jail as lawful punishment

the state of being imprisoned; he was held in captivity until he died; the imprisonment of captured soldiers; his ignominious incarceration in the local jail; he practiced the immurement of his enemies in the castle dungeon

[ Syn: captivity , incarceration , immurement ]

the act of confining someone in a prison (or as if in a prison)

[ Syn: internment ]