encumber vs confine

encumber and confine both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
encumber	No	No	Yes	No
confine	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, confine is a hypernym of encumber; that is, confine is a word with a broader meaning than encumber:

encumber: restrict (someone or something) so as to make free movement difficult
confine: place limits on (extent or amount or access)

Other hypernyms of encumber include bound, limit, restrict, throttle, trammel.

encumber (verb)	confine (verb)
restrict (someone or something) so as to make free movement difficult	place limits on (extent or amount or access)
	to close within bounds, or otherwise limit or deprive of free movement
	prevent from leaving or from being removed
	deprive of freedom; take into confinement
	close in