English Reference
Idiom idiom

durance vile


A long prison sentence.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

The prisoner spent years in durance vile.

CONTEXTUAL

After the judge delivered the harsh sentence, the man was led away to begin his long durance vile.

COMPLEX

Condemned for his political dissent, the writer spent the remainder of his life in durance vile, far from the world he once knew.


Last updated August 10, 2026