confine

con·fine (k

n-f

)

v. con·fined, con·fin·ing, con·fines

v.tr.

1. To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand. See Synonyms at limit.

2. To shut or keep in, especially to imprison.

3. To restrict in movement: The sick child was confined to bed.

v.intr. Archaic

To border.

n. (k

)

1. confines

a. The limits of a space or area; the borders: within the confines of one county.

b. Restraining elements: wanted to escape the confines of corporate politics.

c. Purview; scope: a theory that is well within the confines of science.

a. Archaic A restriction.

b. Obsolete A prison.

[French confiner, from Old French, from confins, boundaries, ultimately from Latin cnfne, from neuter of cnfnis, adjoining : com-, com- + fnis, border.]

con·fina·ble, con·finea·ble adj.

con·finer n.

confine

Verb

[-fining, -fined]

1. to keep within bounds

2. to restrict the free movement of: a nasty dose of flu which confined her to bed for days

Noun

confines boundaries or limits [Latin finis boundary]

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Verb	1.	confine - place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends" limit, throttle, trammel, restrain, restrict, bound tighten, reduce - narrow or limit; "reduce the influx of foreigners" tie - limit or restrict to; "I am tied to UNIX"; "These big jets are tied to large airports" gate - restrict (school boys') movement to the dormitory or campus as a means of punishment draw a line, draw the line - reasonably object (to) or set a limit (on); "I draw the line when it comes to lending money to friends!" mark off, mark out - set boundaries to and delimit; "mark out the territory" harness, rein, rule - keep in check; "rule one's temper" baffle, regulate - check the emission of (sound) hamper, cramp, halter, strangle - prevent the progress or free movement of; "He was hampered in his efforts by the bad weather"; "the imperialist nation wanted to strangle the free trade between the two small countries" tighten up, constrain, stiffen, tighten - restrict; "Tighten the rules"; "stiffen the regulations" clamp down, crack down - repress or suppress (something regarded as undesirable); "The police clamped down on illegal drugs" inhibit - limit the range or extent of; "Contact between the young was inhibited by strict social customs" constrain, cumber, encumber, restrain - hold back curb, hold in, control, moderate, contain, check, hold - lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits; "moderate your alcohol intake"; "hold your tongue"; "hold your temper"; "control your anger"
	2.	confine - restrict or confine, "I limit you to two visits to the pub a day" circumscribe, limit hold down - restrain; "please hold down the noise so that the neighbors can sleep" keep down, number - place a limit on the number of cap - restrict the number or amount of; "We had to cap the number of people we can accept into our club" curtail, restrict, curb, cut back - place restrictions on; "curtail drinking in school" minify, decrease, lessen - make smaller; "He decreased his staff" delimitate, demarcate, delimit - set, mark, or draw the boundaries of something content - satisfy in a limited way; "He contented himself with one glass of beer per day" ration - restrict the consumption of a relatively scarce commodity, as during war; "Bread was rationed during the siege of the city"
	3.	confine - prevent from leaving or from being removed cabin - confine to a small space, such as a cabin closet - confine to a small space, as for intensive work coop in, coop up - confine in or as if in a coop; "she coops herself up in the library all day" lock away, put away, shut away, shut up, lock in, lock up, lock - place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape; "The parents locked her daughter up for the weekend"; "She locked her jewels in the safe" lock in, seal in - close with or as if with a tight seal; "This vacuum pack locks in the flavor!" keep back, restrain, hold back, keep - keep under control; keep in check; "suppress a smile"; "Keep your temper"; "keep your cool"
	4.	confine - close in; darkness enclosed him" hold in, enclose contain, bear, carry, hold - contain or hold; have within; "The jar carries wine"; "The canteen holds fresh water"; "This can contains water" border, bound - form the boundary of; be contiguous to embank - enclose with banks, as for support or protection; "The river was embanked with a dyke" rail in, rail - enclose with rails; "rail in the old graves" box in, box up - enclose or confine as if in a box frame - enclose in a frame, as of a picture
	5.	confine - deprive of freedom; take into confinement detain keep - hold and prevent from leaving; "The student was kept after school" straiten - squeeze together gaol, immure, imprison, incarcerate, jail, jug, put behind bars, remand, lag, put away - lock up or confine, in or as in a jail; "The suspects were imprisoned without trial"; "the murderer was incarcerated for the rest of his life" intern - deprive of freedom; "During WW II, Japanese were interned in camps in the West" bind over - order a defendant to be placed in custody pending the outcome of a proceedings against him or her; "The defendant was bound over for trial" imprison - confine as if in a prison; "His daughters are virtually imprisoned in their own house; he does not let them go out without a chaperone" cage, cage in - confine in a cage; "The animal was caged" trap, pin down - place in a confining or embarrassing position; "He was trapped in a difficult situation" keep in - cause to stay indoors free, loose, unloose, unloosen, release, liberate - grant freedom to; free from confinement
	6.	confine - to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement; "This holds the local until the express passengers change trains"; "About a dozen animals were held inside the stockade"; "The illegal immigrants were held at a detention center"; "The terrorists held the journalists for ransom" restrain, hold disable, disenable, incapacitate - make unable to perform a certain action; "disable this command on your computer" tie down, tie up, truss, bind - secure with or as if with ropes; "tie down the prisoners"; "tie up the old newspapers and bring them to the recycling shed" fetter, shackle - restrain with fetters enchain - restrain or bind with chains pinion, shackle - bind the arms of impound, pound - place or shut up in a pound; "pound the cows so they don't stray" pound up, pound - shut up or confine in any enclosure or within any bounds or limits; "The prisoners are safely pounded" pen up, fold - confine in a fold, like sheep ground - confine or restrict to the ground; "After the accident, they grounded the plane and the pilot"