Skip to main content
immurement

immurement

1 9.9
Shutting someone inside walls so they cannot leave
  • noun
  • /ɪˈmjuːrmənt/
  • Archaic
translation icon : inmuración
  • In literature, immurement often symbolizes a character's isolation and despair as they confront their inner demons.

Examples

  • And does his soul, caught in a tangled web of technology, curse me now as I methodically write the very orders that may ensure its continued immurement?

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The ancient castle featured a dungeon, a grim reminder of the immurement faced by those unjustly imprisoned within its walls.

  • The prisoner endured long years of immurement, trapped inside a small, dark cell with no hope of escape.

Synonyms

detention
vsimmurement
155 3.9

A situation in which someone is kept and not allowed to leave, often by police until a decision is made

implies physical wall enclosure more than short official holding
captivity
vsimmurement
102 3.7

A state of being kept somewhere and not allowed to leave

focuses on physical enclosure by walls rather than general holding
imprisonment
vsimmurement
  • Formal
88 4.0

Being kept in prison as a punishment by law

applies to being shut within walls rather than only legal penalty
incarceration
vsimmurement
  • Formal
85 8.0

Being kept in prison as punishment

focuses on being enclosed by walls rather than only legal prison confinement
confinement
vsimmurement
80 5.9

A state of being kept in a small closed space and unable to move freely

emphasizes being shut within walls rather than a general restriction
detainment
vsimmurement
7 6.7

Being held by police or officials for a short time

highlights enclosure by walls rather than brief temporary custody
consignment
vsimmurement
  • Archaic
1 7.9

Sending someone to prison or a mental hospital

describes being shut within walls rather than the formal act of placement
durrance
vsimmurement
  • Archaic
9.9

A time when someone is kept as a prisoner and not free

is the modern neutral term rather than an archaic expression

Antonyms

279 1.8

An act of letting someone or something go free from being held

How Confined

immurement
  • Archaic
1 9.9
imprisonment
  • Formal
88 4.0
confinement
80 5.9
restriction
340 3.0

Surface Forms

immurement singular
immurements plural

Morphology

immurement = immure (semi-transparent) = im + mure + ment

Formed by the regular nominalizing suffix '-ment' from the verb 'immure', yielding 'the state or act of being immured'.

Etymology

Immurement comes from im- ('in') and the root murus ('wall'), and it is related to the word mural, which means a painting on a wall. So immurement means being shut up 'in' walls or imprisoned inside walls.