imprison

/ɪmˈpɹɪzən/

//ɪmˈpɹɪzən// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"imprison" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“imprison” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,122. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,122
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To put in or as if in prison; confine somebody against their will.

Corpus desk

Index EN-imprison · imprison · English

imprison · rank #34,122 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #34,122
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH inasmuch

Nearest frequency peer: inasmuch (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “imprison”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “imprison” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

imprison vs imprisoned
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for imprison
PropertyValue
Headwordimprison
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪmˈpɹɪzən/
Letters8
Frequency rank#34,122
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “imprison”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).imprisonlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “inasmuch” (#34,123), “impersonation” (#34,120), “imbecile” (#34,118). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “imprison” is #34,122. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around imprison (IPA /ɪmˈpɹɪzən/), averb. Corpus frequency is #34,122 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To put in or as if in prison; confine somebody against their will.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for imprison, with forms such as "immprison", "impirson", and "impprison". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "imprisoned", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English imprisonen, emprisounen, emprisonen, from Old French emprisonner. Equivalent to im- + prison. The correct English form is imprison, spelled I-M-P-R-I-S-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To put in or as if in prison; confine somebody against their will.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how imprison appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. One of the village's most notable sons was Thomas Grantham, a Baptist church leader born in 1634, who was persecuted and imprisoned in the struggle for nonconformist beliefs during the reign of Charles II.
  2. None of these people has ever had what they really wanted, and if they get a glimmer of it, they back off suspiciously, failures of imagination helping to imprison them further.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English imprisonen, emprisounen, emprisonen, from Old French emprisonner. Equivalent to im- + prison.

Synonyms

bang upgaoljaillock upput awayimmuresend to the Towerbastilleclap upconfineincarcerateimprisonmew uproofsend down

This word in other languages

encarcelar(Español)emprisonner(Français)einsperren(Deutsch)aprisionar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • immprison
  • impirson
  • impprison
  • impriosn
  • imprisno
  • imprisonn
  • imprisson
  • imprrison
  • imprsion
  • imrpison
  • ipmrison
  • miprison

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of imprison - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

immprison1impirson2impprison1impriosn2imprisno2imprisonn1imprisson1imprrison1
Edit distance from "imprison"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "imprison"?
"imprison" is spelled I-M-P-R-I-S-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪmˈpɹɪzən/.
What does "imprison" mean?
As a verb, "imprison" means: To put in or as if in prison; confine somebody against their will.
What words are commonly confused with "imprison"?
"imprison" is commonly confused with "imprisoned". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "imprison"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "imprison" is /ɪmˈpɹɪzən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "imprison"?
Inherited from Middle English imprisonen, emprisounen, emprisonen, from Old French emprisonner. Equivalent to im- + prison. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "imprison", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

inasmuch#34,123imbecile#34,118hustling#34,116Huckabee#34,114

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

ischemic12 variantsHollister12 variantsgoverness12 variantslinguist12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list