internment
noun
in·tern·ment
in-ˈtərn-mənt 
ˈin-ˌtərn-
plural internments
: the act of interning someone or the state of being interned
His parents had never told him about the exclusion laws, or the internment of Japanese-Americans, and the subject had not come up in his textbooks.—
Timothy Egan
Timothy EganEven in the midst of betrayal and the resulting alienation experienced in the internment, there exists the unnegotiable state of human bonds and possibility for reconciliation.—Fumitaka Matsuoka
Fumitaka Matsuoka… an American who spent World War II with his parents in an internment camp.—Philip Siekman
Philip Siekman
Synonyms
Examples of internment in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Six other internment camps are already national parks—and now, Amache is officially joining them.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
The Indigenous Aleuts were forcibly evacuated by the government and shipped to internment camps.
—Susan Portnoy, Travel + Leisure, 29 Mar. 2024
Nakashima, who was born in Spokane, Wash., to Japanese immigrant parents, established himself as a furniture designer before being imprisoned with his family at the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho during World War II.
—Evan Moffitt, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
The same president, Franklin Roosevelt, signed another executive order, the one that established internment centers for Japanese Americans.
—Amity Shlaes, National Review, 10 Jan. 2024
In 2017, as a mass internment campaign targeting Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim groups in the far northwest was taking shape, Xi joined a delegation led by Chen Quanguo, often considered the architect of the crackdown.
—Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2024
Greg Ito, a fourth-generation Japanese American artist, whose grandparents met in an American internment camp, was born in Los Angeles.
—Robin Pogrebin, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024
After forcibly removing the individuals from their communities, the government sent them to inland internment camps in Colorado, California, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, Arkansas and Idaho.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
Beyond that, Trump’s policy positions, such as his vows to create massive internment camps and deport millions of unauthorized immigrants, including many who have lived in the U.S. for decades, aren’t going to sound like stability to many voters.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
The Indigenous Aleuts were forcibly evacuated by the government and shipped to internment camps.
—Susan Portnoy, Travel + Leisure, 29 Mar. 2024
Nakashima, who was born in Spokane, Wash., to Japanese immigrant parents, established himself as a furniture designer before being imprisoned with his family at the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho during World War II.
—Evan Moffitt, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
The same president, Franklin Roosevelt, signed another executive order, the one that established internment centers for Japanese Americans.
—Amity Shlaes, National Review, 10 Jan. 2024
In 2017, as a mass internment campaign targeting Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim groups in the far northwest was taking shape, Xi joined a delegation led by Chen Quanguo, often considered the architect of the crackdown.
—Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2024
Greg Ito, a fourth-generation Japanese American artist, whose grandparents met in an American internment camp, was born in Los Angeles.
—Robin Pogrebin, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024
After forcibly removing the individuals from their communities, the government sent them to inland internment camps in Colorado, California, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, Arkansas and Idaho.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
Beyond that, Trump’s policy positions, such as his vows to create massive internment camps and deport millions of unauthorized immigrants, including many who have lived in the U.S. for decades, aren’t going to sound like stability to many voters.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'internment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1850, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near internment
Cite this Entry
“Internment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/internment. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
internment
noun
in·tern·ment
in-ˈtərn-mənt,
ˈin-ˌtərn-
: the act of interning : the state of being interned
More from Merriam-Webster on internment
Nglish: Translation of internment for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of internment for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share