as in captive
one that has been taken and held in confinement
the prisoners were fed only bread and water twice a day
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Recent Examples of prisoner
Economists often refer to such situations as a prisoner’s dilemma, in which individuals, businesses, or countries could theoretically benefit from coöperating with one another but also have, or are presented with, incentives to act selfishly and cut their own deals.
—
John Cassidy, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
China is the world’s biggest prisoner of journalists, with at least 124 media workers behind bars, RSF said.
—Reuters, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
All 48 hostages would be released in exchange for 3,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a cease-fire to assess the next steps.
—Greg Palkot, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2025
And that's about feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and welcoming the stranger and visiting the prisoner.
—Jason Lemon, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prisoner
John Cassidy, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
China is the world’s biggest prisoner of journalists, with at least 124 media workers behind bars, RSF said.
—Reuters, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
All 48 hostages would be released in exchange for 3,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a cease-fire to assess the next steps.
—Greg Palkot, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2025
And that's about feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and welcoming the stranger and visiting the prisoner.
—Jason Lemon, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prisoner
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prisoner
Noun
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Adams argued that the captives had the right of due process.—
Time,
Time,
24 Sep. 2025
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Our first field shoot was appropriately enough to visit released hostages and families of captives of Hamas.—
Greg Palkot,
FOXNews.com,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
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After evading capture at first, the bird was caught in June 2023.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
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The first movie was a landmark achievement in visual effects and performance capture, and a milestone at the box office.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prisoner.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prisoner. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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