confinement

confinement, lockdown

noun kon-feen-MAH Rare

Also means

solitary confinement

Usage Note

Confinement entered broad public usage during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, when le confinement became the standard French term for 'lockdown'. Before that, it was used in medical contexts (childbirth lying-in period) and in the phrase mise en confinement (solitary confinement). The verb confiner and adjective confiné share the same root.

Examples

"Le confinement a duré plusieurs semaines."

Natural Translation

The lockdown lasted several weeks.

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