as in prison
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
a sentence in the state penitentiary for robbery
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Recent Examples of penitentiary
Just up the way, the old penitentiary building is famously open for tours and purportedly haunted.
—
Idaho Statesman, 6 Oct. 2025
In 2005, the penitentiary was downgraded to medium security, and its name changed to the Federal Correctional Institution.
—Randy Mason, Kansas City Star, 17 Sep. 2025
Arcángela and Serafina remain in the women’s penitentiary, continuing to operate illicit businesses and accumulating wealth, but without hope of freedom.
—Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
Prisoners look out of their cell at maximum security penitentiary CECOT (Center for the Compulsory Housing of Terrorism) on April 4 in Tecoluca, San Vicente, El Salvador.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Idaho Statesman, 6 Oct. 2025
In 2005, the penitentiary was downgraded to medium security, and its name changed to the Federal Correctional Institution.
—Randy Mason, Kansas City Star, 17 Sep. 2025
Arcángela and Serafina remain in the women’s penitentiary, continuing to operate illicit businesses and accumulating wealth, but without hope of freedom.
—Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
Prisoners look out of their cell at maximum security penitentiary CECOT (Center for the Compulsory Housing of Terrorism) on April 4 in Tecoluca, San Vicente, El Salvador.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penitentiary
Noun
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Regarding the lack of disciplinary records documenting policy violations, Payne placed blame on prison staff for failure to write Holt up for disciplinary violations.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Oct. 2025
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In August 2024, Lorincz was convicted on the manslaughter charge, and in November, a judge sentenced her to 25 years in prison.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Starting in the 1880s, the city and county each built a series of increasingly spacious jails—and then proceeded to fill them well above capacity each winter.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
21 Oct. 2025
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Grayson has been held in the Macon County jail ahead of his trial.—
Deena Zaru,
ABC News,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penitentiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penitentiary. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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