immure

[ ih-myoor ]
See synonyms for: immureimmuredimmurationimmurement on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),im·mured, im·mur·ing.
  1. to enclose within walls.

  2. to shut in; seclude or confine.

  1. to imprison.

  2. to build into or entomb in a wall.

  3. Obsolete. to surround with walls; fortify.

Origin of immure

1
1575–85; <Medieval Latin immūrāre, equivalent to Latin im-im-1 + -mūrāre, verbal derivative of mūrus wall (cf. mural)

Other words from immure

  • im·mure·ment, im·mu·ra·tion [im-yuh-rey-shuhn], /ˌɪm yəˈreɪ ʃən/, noun
  • self-im·mure·ment, noun
  • self-im·mur·ing, adjective
  • un·im·mured, adjective

Words Nearby immure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use immure in a sentence

  • It never forged a chain to bind a heretic or an adversary, nor erected a prison to immure him.

  • Some of the consignees were mobbed, and all were obliged to fly to the castle, and there immure themselves.

  • I will immure myself against your cries, and lock myself up to your lamentations.

  • But it was affrighting to realize that the very physical feature which provided a refuge might also immure them in a living tomb.

    His Unknown Wife | Louis Tracy
  • She was not one of those napkin people who hide their talents, or who immure their lights under superincumbent bushels.

    Marm Lisa | Kate Douglas Wiggin

British Dictionary definitions for immure

immure

/ (ɪˈmjʊə) /


verb(tr)
  1. archaic, or literary to enclose within or as if within walls; imprison

  2. to shut (oneself) away from society

  1. obsolete to build into or enclose within a wall

Origin of immure

1
C16: from Medieval Latin immūrāre, from Latin im- (in) + mūrus a wall

Derived forms of immure

  • immurement, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012