panopticon

noun

pan·​op·​ti·​con pə-ˈnäp-ti-ˌkän 

pa-

plural panopticons

1

: an optical instrument combining the telescope and microscope

2

: a circular prison built with cells arranged radially so that a guard at a central position can see all the prisoners

Examples of panopticon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Whether that place seems like a pleasure-dome or a panopticon is up to you. — Max Norman, New Yorker, 25 June 2026

Today, the future of work looks increasingly like a digital panopticon. — Sarita Gupta, Time, 2 June 2026

These might seem like separate systems, and therefore different from the kind of centralized panopticon imagined in the pulp sci-fi our parents might have read. — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 29 Apr. 2026

Her social media panopticon is already in so many ways bigger than the 600 movie theaters that an independent film might play in. — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 11 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1742, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for panopticon

• agamemnon
• automaton
• diencephalon
• phenomenon
• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon
• cynodon