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

Cities are the most potent nodes of this global animal panopticon. —Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 7 Sep. 2025

Langley envisions a benevolent American panopticon where everyone feels safe and cities use all the data at their disposal to improve our quality of life. —Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Self-awareness—the kind cultivated by the digital panopticon and a consumerist culture that constantly directs our attention toward ourselves and our choices—tells us that there is something shameful about the epic scale. —Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 May 2025

Even as Andreeva was winning in Dubai, there were reminders of the troubling aspects of being a young woman, or, frankly, any person, in the panopticon of pro sports. —Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025

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
• chitosan