confine

confine
confines, confining, confined
(The verb is pronounced [[t]kənfa͟ɪn[/t]]. The noun confines is pronounced [[t]kɒ̱nfaɪnz[/t]].)
1) VERB To confine something to a particular place or group means to prevent it from spreading beyond that place or group.

[V n to n] Health officials have successfully confined the epidemic to the Tabatinga area...

[V n] The US will soon be taking steps to confine the conflict.

Syn:
2) VERB If you confine yourself or your activities to something, you do only that thing and are involved with nothing else.

[V n to n] He did not confine himself to the one language...

[V n to n] Yoko had largely confined her activities to the world of big business...

[V-ed] His genius was not confined to the decoration of buildings.

Syn:
limit, restrict
3) VERB: usu passive If someone is confined to a mental institution, prison, or other place, they are sent there and are not allowed to leave for a period of time.

[be V-ed to n] The woman will be confined to a mental institution...

[be V-ed to n] He announced that the army and police had been confined to barracks.

4) N-PLURAL: usu prep the N of n Something that is within the confines of an area or place is within the boundaries enclosing it. [FORMAL]

The movie is set entirely within the confines of the abandoned factory.

...the wild grass and weeds that grew in the confines of the grandstand.

5) N-PLURAL: usu the N of n The confines of a situation, system, or activity are the limits or restrictions it involves.

...away from the confines of the British class system...

I can't stand the confines of this marriage.

Syn:

English dictionary. 2008.

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Synonyms:
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  • confiné — confiné, ée [ kɔ̃fine ] adj. • de confiner 1 ♦ Enfermé. Vivre confiné chez soi. 2 ♦ (1842) Air confiné, non renouvelé. ⇒ renfermé. Atmosphère confinée. confiné, ée adj. d1./d Enfermé. Un malade confiné dans sa chambre. Fig. Un esprit confiné dans …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • confine — con·fine vt con·fined, con·fin·ing: to hold within a location; specif: imprison Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. confine …   Law dictionary

  • Confine — Country …   Wikipedia

  • confiné — confiné, ée (kon fi né, née) part. passé. Relégué. Confiné dans un lieu solitaire. •   Obscurément confiné au fond de sa province, D ALEMB. Éloges, Trublet …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Confine — Con fine (? or ?); 277), v. i. To have a common boundary; to border; to lie contiguous; to touch; followed by on or with. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Where your gloomy bounds Confine with heaven. Milton. [1913 Webster] Bewixt heaven and earth and skies …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Confine — Con fine, n. 1. Common boundary; border; limit; used chiefly in the plural. [1913 Webster] Events that came to pass within the confines of Judea. Locke. [1913 Webster] And now in little space The confines met of empyrean heaven, And of this world …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Confine — Con*fine (k[o^]n*f[imac]n ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Confined}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Confining}.] [F. confiner to border upon, LL. confinare to set bounds to; con + finis boundary, end. See {Final}, {Finish}.] To restrain within limits; to restrict; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • confine — s.m. [dal lat. confine, neutro dell agg. confinis confinante ]. 1. (geogr.) [linea che delimita un territorio o un terreno da un altro] ▶◀ delimitazione, demarcazione, limite, termine, [di regione geografica o di stato] frontiera. 2. (estens.)… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • confine — (n.) c.1400, boundary, limit (usually as confines), from O.Fr. confins boundaries, from M.L. confines, from L. confinium (pl. confinia) boundary, limit, from confine, neut. of confinis bordering on, having the same boundaries, from com with (see… …   Etymology dictionary

  • confine — vb circumscribe, *limit, restrict Analogous words: bind, *tie: *restrain, curb, inhibit, check: *hamper, trammel, fetter, shackle, hog tie, manacle: *imprison, incarcerate, immure, intern, jail confine n bound, * …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • confine — ► VERB 1) (confine to) restrict (someone or something) within certain limits of (space, scope, or time). 2) (be confined to) be unable to leave (one s bed, home, etc.) due to illness or disability. 3) (be confined) dated (of a woman) remain in… …   English terms dictionary

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