Legal Definitions - incommunicado

Definition: Incommunicado (in-kə-myoo-ni-kah-doh) is a Spanish word that means:

1. Without any means of communication.
2. (Of a prisoner) having the right to communicate with only a few designated people.

Examples:

• After the hurricane, many people were left incommunicado because the power and phone lines were down.
• The prisoner was put incommunicado and was only allowed to speak to his lawyer and immediate family members.

The first example illustrates the first definition of incommunicado. When there is no way to communicate, people are incommunicado. In this case, the hurricane caused a disruption in the communication infrastructure, leaving people without any means of communication.

The second example illustrates the second definition of incommunicado. When a prisoner is put incommunicado, they are not allowed to communicate with anyone except a few designated people. This is usually done for security reasons, to prevent the prisoner from communicating with other people who may help them escape or commit more crimes.