as in penitentiary
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
earned six years in a federal pen
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in writer
a person who creates a written work
Alexander Hamilton is reckoned to be the pseudonymous pen behind two thirds of the Federalist Papers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to house
to close or shut in by or as if by barriers
remember to pen up the dogs when visitors come over
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as in to write
to compose and set down on paper the words of
though relatively unknown at the time of his death, the composer had penned some of the most memorable show tunes of his era
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Recent Examples of pen
Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 2 May 2026
The Marlins victimized the Phillies’ pen with that three-run eighth, which included an RBI single by Otto Lopez, a sacrifice fly by Liam Hicks and an Agustin Ramirez two-out RBI single.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 May 2026
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 Apr. 2026
The interiors, meanwhile, were penned by Fabio Fantolino and combine classic Italian style with open-air living.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pen
Noun
The fake medical prescriptions were legible, but the handwriting looked more like the output of an iPad stylus than a pen on paper.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 2 May 2026
The Marlins victimized the Phillies’ pen with that three-run eighth, which included an RBI single by Otto Lopez, a sacrifice fly by Liam Hicks and an Agustin Ramirez two-out RBI single.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 May 2026
Verb
It was penned to expose the mechanics of corruption at a point in time when Orwell believed the issue of fascism was of the utmost urgency.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 Apr. 2026
The interiors, meanwhile, were penned by Fabio Fantolino and combine classic Italian style with open-air living.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pen
Cite this Entry
“Pen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pen. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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