confine

[ kuhn-fahyn kon-fahyn ]

verb (used with object)

, con·fined, con·fin·ing.

1. to enclose within bounds; limit or restrict:

   She confined her remarks to errors in the report. Confine your efforts to finishing the book.

   Synonyms: circumscribe

   Antonyms: free

2. to shut or keep in; prevent from leaving a place because of imprisonment, illness, discipline, etc.:

   For that offense he was confined to quarters for 30 days.

   Antonyms: free

noun

1. Usually confines. a boundary or bound; limit; border; frontier.
2. Often confines. region; territory.
3. Archaic. confinement.
4. Obsolete. a place of confinement; prison.

confine

verb

1. to keep or close within bounds; limit; restrict
2. to keep shut in; restrict the free movement of

   arthritis confined him to bed

noun

1. often plural a limit; boundary

Derived Forms

• ˈconfineless, adjective
• conˈfinable, adjective
• conˈfiner, noun

Other Words From

• con·fina·ble con·finea·ble adjective
• con·fineless adjective
• con·finer noun
• noncon·fining adjective
• precon·fine verb (used with object) preconfined preconfining
• quasi-con·fining adjective
• recon·fine verb (used with object) reconfined reconfining
• self-con·fining adjective
• uncon·fina·ble adjective
• uncon·fining adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of confine¹

1350–1400 for noun; 1515–25 for v.; (noun) Middle English < Middle French confins, confines < Medieval Latin confinia, plural of Latin confinis boundary, border ( con-, fine ² ); (v.) < Middle French confiner, verbal derivative of confins < Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of confine¹

C16: from Medieval Latin confīnāre from Latin confīnis adjacent, from fīnis end, boundary

Example Sentences

For starters, more people will probably watch the game within the confines of their homes.

From Digiday

From his confines in a Melbourne hotel room, the world’s 70th-ranked men’s tennis player is staging a clinic on the sport’s mental game.

From Washington Post

Due to close confines, too many deaths among inmates and correction officers have occurred nationally, and family and friend visitations are canceled.

From Washington Post

The trick is still mostly experimental, but it’s an example of thinking outside the artificial confines of a particular AI domain.

From Singularity Hub 

Experts in psychology and decision-making say hostility toward wearing masks, even within the shared confines of a passenger jet, has been fueled by politicization — but also by skewed incentives and inconsistent messaging.

From Washington Post

It is naïve to imagine that a militarized police will confine itself to surgical strikes in crime-ridden areas.

From The Daily Beast

These questions simply will not confine themselves to quiet rooms.

From The Daily Beast

In war, for instance, we certainly mean to confine our aspirations for life to ourselves and our allies.

From The Daily Beast

Miss Gould will confine her lectures this week in English to the discussion of plays and play-making.

From Project Gutenberg

No third mode of origin can be conceived, and we may safely confine ourselves to a review of these two claims.

From Project Gutenberg

If he confine that slave in his house, and afterwards the slave has been seized in his hand, that man shall be put to death.

From Project Gutenberg

So, we will name no chemicals or poisons but confine ourselves to effects and processes.

From Project Gutenberg

We cannot confine the first refrain to one line only, as there is no stop at the end of l. 14.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• constrain
• detain
• hinder
• imprison
• incarcerate
• jail
• restrain
• restrict