Which to use
“imprison” and “imprisoned” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,122
- “imprison” frequency rank
- #9,768
- “imprisoned” frequency rank
- 43890
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | imprison | imprisoned |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To put in or as if in prison; confine somebody against their will. | simple past and past participle of imprison |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set imprison and imprisoned apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. imprison (/ɪmˈpɹɪzən/) and imprisoned (/ɪmˈpɹɪzənd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “imprison” sits inside “imprisoned”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
imprison is recorded at frequency rank #34,122, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪmˈpɹɪzən/. imprisoned is at rank #9,768, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪmˈpɹɪzənd/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 43890, this pair ranks #235,710 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of imprison vs imprisoned
Shared letters: imnoprs. Private to "imprison": -. Private to "imprisoned": de.
"imprison" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "imprisoned" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- imprison ← immprison · impirson · impprison · impriosn · imprisno · imprisonn · imprisson · imprrison
- imprisoned ← immprisoned · impirsoned · impprisoned · impriosned · imprisnoed · imprisoend · imprisonde · imprisonedd
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "imprison" and "imprisoned" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "imprison" or "imprisoned"?
Remembering imprison vs imprisoned
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “imprison” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable