Emprisonner

Emprisonner is a French transitive verb meaning to confine a person or a thing in prison, or to detain under legal authority. It is used in legal, police, and formal contexts to describe the act of placing someone in custody or restricting someone’s freedom. The term can also be used metaphorically to signify restricting freedom, range, or movement, for example in phrases like emprisonner des idées.

Conjugation and usage notes: Emprisonner is a regular -er verb. Present tense forms are j'emprisonne, tu emprisonnes, il emprisonne, nous emprisonnons, vous emprisonnez, ils emprisonnent. The past participle is emprisonné and is used with the auxiliary avoir in compound tenses (par exemple: j'ai emprisonné le suspect). The verb also appears in imperative as emprisonne, emprisonnons, emprisonnez, and in the subjunctive present as que j'emprisonne, que nous emprisonnions, que vous emprisonniez, que'ils emprisonnent. The common noun corresponding to the action is emprisonnement, and the adjective form is emprisonné.

Etymology: Emprisonner is formed from the noun prison with the prefix en- (often interpreted as “to put into prison”), distinguishing the action from the place itself. The noun prison derives from Old French prison/prison, with roots in the broader Latin and vernacular heritage of confinement terms.

See also: prison, enfermer, emprisonnement, détention. In contrast to enforcer or liberate, emprisonner emphasizes the act of placing someone in custody or constraining freedom through legal authority.