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inmate

inmate

337 3.5
A person kept in a prison, hospital, or similar place
  • noun
  • /ˈɪnˌmeɪt/
translation icon : recluso (penitenciario)
  • After the riot, many inmates were moved to different cells for their safety.
  • prison inmates
  • jail inmates
  • federal inmates

He's confessed to me and another inmate, he said.

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Examples

  • We had been training this group of inmates in a certain part of the prison.

  • But despite the yard being open to the skies, the inmates are shrouded in darkness.

  • Has William Johnson been an inmate in the New York State prison system?

    Fiction book (1994)
  • I was asked to give a talk to the inmates, look at some of their work.

  • And the bigger issue is American prisons are terrible at keeping inmates safe.

  • In some instances, inmates in the juvenile unit were locked in their cells for weeks.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Every day of work as an inmate firefighter counts as two days toward their sentence.

  • During these visits, the team had discussions with inmates and uniformed officers and collected data for the project.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Cut to: Parker being given a crew cut by an inmate barber inside the prison barber shop.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The prison offers educational programs to help inmates improve their skills before release.

Synonyms

prisoner
vsinmate
1.1

A person kept locked because they broke the law or were captured during a war

is a broader neutral term including confinement in hospitals or other institutions
convict
vsinmate
137 3.2

A person who has been found guilty of a crime and is in prison

includes all confined persons whether convicted or held for other reasons
con
vsinmate
  • Slang
98 7.4

A person serving time in prison

covers all people confined in institutions not only those serving sentences
detainee
vsinmate
  • Literature
95 6.8

A person authorities hold for legal or political reasons

is the common word for any person confined in an institution
internee
vsinmate
3 9.0

A person who is held in a camp without trial during a war, often for political reasons

is the general term covering confinement in prisons hospitals or similar places
termer
vsinmate
1 9.9

A person who serves a prison sentence for a fixed time

focuses on confinement in any institution regardless of term length
yardbird
vsinmate
  • Archaic
9.9

A person serving time in jail or prison

is the neutral term used for anyone confined in an institution

Antonyms

freeperson
  • Archaic
9.3

A person who is not a slave and can own land and live freely

How Confined

prisoner
1.1
inmate
337 3.5
detainee
  • Literature
95 6.8
freeperson
  • Archaic
9.3

Surface Forms

inmate singular
inmates plural

Morphology

inmate = mate (semi-transparent) = in + mate

Formed from 'in' + 'mate' giving 'resident/companion inside', but the modern sense narrowed to institutional resident (often prisoner) which is not fully predictable from components.

Etymology

The word inmate comes from the parts in- ('inside') and mate (as in roommate), so it originally meant someone who lives in the same place. Today an inmate usually means a person kept inside a place like a prison or hospital.