confinement

/kənˈfaɪnmənt/ (bre, ipa) · /kənˈfaɪnmənt/ (ame, ipa) · /kən-ˈfīn-mənt/ (ame, mw)

confinement — noun

  • confinementsingular
  • confinementsplural

1. being held inside one location — a prison cell, a small room, a locked yard — wi

1.名詞C1
釋義

being held inside one location — a prison cell, a small room, a locked yard — without permission to leave; applies equally to humans and animals.

例句

After the trial, Esteban faced three years of confinement in a federal prison.

noun + in [place] for length of imprisonment

The activist endured solitary confinement for refusing to name her colleagues.

collocation: solitary confinement

同義詞
  • imprisonment

    specifically being held in a prison; narrower than confinement.

  • detention

    often by police or school authority, usually short-term.

  • captivity

    broader; common for animals or hostages held against their will.

反義詞
  • freedom

    the state of being able to move and act as one chooses.

  • release

    the moment confinement ends.

文法句型

in confinement

confinement of [person]

用法筆記

Frequently appears in fixed collocations like 'solitary confinement', 'home confinement', and 'place of confinement'. Object of the action is the person or animal being held; the holder is often left unstated or expressed with 'by'.

常見錯誤

❌He was in a confinement for two years.
✅He was in confinement for two years.
💡'confinement' is uncountable here; no article.

2. an old-fashioned word for the weeks around childbirth, covering both the deliver

2.名詞C2
釋義

an old-fashioned word for the weeks around childbirth, covering both the delivery itself and the rest period that follows.

例句

Esme's grandmother spent her confinement at home with the village midwife.

possessive + confinement for childbirth period

In Victorian novels, women often disappeared from social life during their confinement.

domain: historical / medical register

同義詞
  • labour

    the active process of giving birth; standard modern term.

  • lying-in

    equally old-fashioned; the rest period after birth.

文法句型

in confinement

during her confinement

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense never refers to forced custody; it always names a maternity period. Now mainly seen in older novels, medical history, or in specific cultural traditions (e.g. Chinese 'sitting the month').

常見錯誤

❌My sister went into confinement at the hospital yesterday.
✅My sister went into labour at the hospital yesterday.
💡modern English uses 'labour' or 'giving birth'; 'confinement' sounds old-fashioned.