confined

1. 1
   adjective

   Held within bounds and unable to move about freely.

   The prisoners were confined to a single cramped cell for days.

   Cattle confined in narrow stalls become restless and stressed.

   Similarrestricted, penned, caged, enclosed, trapped

   Oppositefree, unconfined, unrestricted, loose

2. 2
   adjective

   Limited in extent or scope; narrow or restricted.

   The study had a confined focus, looking only at one small town.

   Working in such confined quarters made the task difficult.

   Similarlimited, restricted, narrow, cramped, tight

   Oppositebroad, wide, spacious, roomy

3. 3
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of confine.

   Heavy snow confined the villagers to their homes for a week.

   The doctors confined the patient to strict bed rest.

   Note

   One regular -ed spelling does double duty. It is the simple past (snow confined the villagers) and the participle after have or be (they had been confined). It usually travels with to, which names the place or limit. After be it shades easily into the adjective for being held in, so was confined to bed can be read either way. An obsolete use of confine meant simply to border on.

4. 4
   adjective

   Undergoing childbirth, or resting in bed during the period around giving birth.

   Confined that winter, she gave birth to twins under the midwife's care.

   The lady was confined in the east wing, awaiting the birth of her first child.

   Note

   Childbed and lying-in are the older words this sense keeps company with. A woman was confined when she was kept to her room for the birth and the weeks around it. The usage is now dated. It typically stands as plain was confined, with no place named. That sets it apart from the "not free to move" meaning, which usually wants a to.

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