incarcerate
/ɪnˈkɑɹ.səˌɹeɪt/verb
incarcerate is spelled I-N-C-A-R-C-E-R-A-T-E: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, incarcerate means “To lock away; to imprison, especially for breaking the law” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in incarcerate?
| Letters | 11: I-N-C-A-R-C-E-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 74,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is incarcerate?
Incarcerate appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce incarcerate?
- UK /ɪnˈkɑː.səˌɹeɪt/
- US /ɪnˈkɑɹ.səˌɹeɪt/
Incarcerate has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-incarcerate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of incarcerate
- incarcerates present, singular, he/she/it
- incarcerating participle, present
- incarcerated participle, past
- encarcerate
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does incarcerate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
USTo lock away; to imprison, especially for breaking the law.
- 2
To confine; to shut up or enclose; to hem in.
adjective
- 1
archaicobsoleteIncarcerated: jailed, imprisoned, confined, shut in.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Incarcerate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to lock away in prison:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | incarcérer, imprisonner |
| German | einsperren |
| Portuguese | prender, encarcerar, aprisionar |
| Spanish | encarcelar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does incarcerate come from?
The adjective is first attested in 1528, the verb in 1575; borrowed from Medieval Latin incarcerātus, perfect passive participle of incarcerō (“to imprison”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Latin in- (“in”) + carcer (“a prison”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Common participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).