penitentiary

1 of 2

noun

pen·​i·​ten·​tia·​ry ˌpe-nə-ˈten(t)-sh(ə-)rē How to pronounce penitentiary (audio)
plural penitentiaries
1
a
: an officer in some Roman Catholic dioceses vested with power from the bishop to deal with cases of a nature normally handled only by the bishop
b
capitalized : a cardinal presiding over a tribunal of the Roman curia (see curia sense 3) concerned with dispensations (see dispensation sense 2) and indulgences
2
: a public institution in which offenders against the law are confined for detention or punishment
specifically : a state or federal prison in the U.S.
a federal penitentiary in Virginia

penitentiary

2 of 2

adjective

pen·​i·​ten·​tia·​ry ˌpe-nə-ˈten(t)-sh(ə-)rē How to pronounce penitentiary (audio)
 sense 1 also  -ˈten(t)-shē-ˌer-ē
1
2
: of, relating to, or incurring confinement in a penitentiary

Examples of penitentiary in a Sentence

Noun a sentence in the state penitentiary for robbery
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Hellish Prison Conditions: Locked in an Arctic prison, Aleksei Navalny likely spent his final days in some of the most inhumane conditions within Russia’s extensive penitentiary system, according to five men who have served sentences in the same penal colony as him. Oleg Matsnev, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024 Willis’ team is charging Williams and co-defendants with criminal racketeering under Georgia’s RICO Act, a conspiracy law that paves a path to the penitentiary for a defendant with far less direct evidence than required under the federal statutes used in the Jam Master Jay case. Bill Hochberg, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 Speaking of Prison Break characters that fans love to hate, Wade Williams is Brad Bellick, a corrupt security guard at the penitentiary. Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2024 Navalny, 47, died suddenly in an Arctic Russian prison colony on Feb. 16, penitentiary officials said, removing the most prominent figure inside Russia willing to challenge the Kremlin’s rule. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2024 Many countries have imposed tougher law and order policies, including longer sentences and more convictions for low-level drug offenses, pushing most of the region’s penitentiaries beyond maximum capacity. Jack Nicas, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024 The penitentiary, which suffers from a severe lack of food, propane fuel and drinking water, is also wrestling with a feet-deep infestation of sewage and garbage. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 25 Jan. 2024 Or the Texas penitentiary system hadn’t stolen five years of 03 Greedo’s prime? Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2023 In Russia, transit between penitentiary facilities is seen by rights groups as a highly vulnerable moment for political prisoners. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
Adjective
These letters, as in any penitentiary institution in the world, are read and censored. Júlia Ledur, Washington Post, 1 June 2023 Judge Octavio Rothschuh Andino announced the release of at least 222 inmates by the Nicaraguan penitentiary system at a press conference on Thursday, saying several were already en route to the US. Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, 9 Feb. 2023 According to the website for Russia’s federal penitentiary service (FSIN), standard workdays last 12 hours. David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2022 Yakovleva explains that Griner will now be kept in a central prison for convicts until a place is found for her in the overcrowded penitentiary system. Juliet Butler, Peoplemag, 11 Nov. 2022 Worthy welcomed the jump from taking penitentiary chances to making legitimate from music. Max Bell, SPIN, 30 Aug. 2022 The premise is alright: The titular Spiderhead is a penitentiary wing that counts among its wards a guy named Jeff, played by Miles Teller, and a woman named Lizzy, played by Jurnee Smollett. K. Austin Collins, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2022 Hundreds of thousands of people work in the federal penitentiary system and not all of them love Putin. Amy Kellogg, Fox News, 14 Aug. 2022 Proponents of the moratorium on new prisons slammed the report’s findings, saying that a new women’s penitentiary undercuts efforts to reduce incarceration in favor of treatment and rehabilitation. Alexander Thompson, BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'penitentiary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

Middle English penitenciary, from Medieval Latin poenitentiarius, from poenitentia

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of penitentiary was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near penitentiary

Cite this Entry

“Penitentiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penitentiary. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

penitentiary

noun
pen·​i·​ten·​tia·​ry
ˌpen-ə-ˈtench-(ə-)rē
plural penitentiaries
: a usually state or federal prison in which criminals are kept

Legal Definition

penitentiary

noun
pen·​i·​ten·​tia·​ry ˌpe-nə-ˈten-chə-rē How to pronounce penitentiary (audio)
plural penitentiaries
: a state or federal prison for the punishment and reformation of convicted felons compare house of correction, house of detention, jail, lockup

More from Merriam-Webster on penitentiary

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