internment

[ in-turn-muhnt ]

noun

1. an act or instance of interning, or confining a person or ship to prescribed limits during wartime:

   the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

2. the state of being interned; confinement.

Word History and Origins

Origin of internment¹

First recorded in 1865–70; intern ² + -ment

Example Sentences

Furutani said he didn’t even know there had been internment camps until he went to college.

From Los Angeles Times

Rounding them by the millions and dumping them in internment camps would bring our economy to its knees.

From Salon

If elected, he also promised a militarized campaign of deportation that would entail arresting and detaining millions of people in internment camps.

From Salon

During the interview, Trump also likened the detention of those charged with storming the Capitol to the US internment of Japanese Americans in World War Two.

From BBC

The Alien and Sedition Acts grant widespread powers to the president during wartime and were famously used to justify the internment of Japanese-Americans in World War 2.

From Salon

Related Words

• bondage
• confinement
• custody
• imprisonment
• incarceration
• slavery