immure

Everyday

1. (formal, old) To shut someone up in a prison or a closed place, as if behind walls. tree →
2. To shut yourself away from other people. tree →

In the lessons

A rare, bookish word for being imprisoned or shut away: «immured in a dungeon». In The Wind in the Willows Toad is immured in the deepest dungeon of the oldest castle in England for stealing a motor-car. In history stories, people were sometimes walled up as punishment.

Examples

• Toad was immured in the darkest dungeon of the castle. tree →
• The prisoner was immured in a tiny cell. tree →
• The writer immured herself in her room to finish her book. tree →
• In the legend, the princess was immured in a tower. tree →
• He felt immured in the dull office all day. tree →
• In the deep stony cellars of the castle, the young Christian priest was immured, and his hands and feet tied together with strips of bark. tree →

Note

Formal and rare; pronounced i-MYOOR. From Latin «murus», wall (compare «mural», a wall painting). Today say «lock up», «imprison» or «shut away».