panopticon

noun

pan·op·ti·con pə-ˈnäp-ti-ˌkän

pa-

plural panopticons

: an optical instrument combining the telescope and microscope

: 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 Cars with paper plates or none at all to avoid tickets and the police panopticon that now includes license plate readers, with drivers blaring their engines and paying no mind to red lights, speed limits, bike or parking rules. —

Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, 11 May 2024 In the absence of a federal privacy law, the U.S. national security establishment has used commercially available data to craft a creeping panopticon. —

Frank Bajak, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024 The constant presence of video cameras can turn our streets and homes into weird panopticons, my colleague Drew Harwell wrote. —

Tatum Hunter, Washington Post, 29 Feb. 2024 The filming devices in the home establish a panopticon where the husband and children are pawns in an advertising campaign for the woman’s self-image. —

Abigail Anthony, National Review, 11 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for panopticon

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