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

Everyone is eager to share their personal view of the panopticon. — Longreads, 15 Sep. 2026

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

Keith arrests our thinking, and cons us into suppressing our critical faculties with the same kind of internalized surveillance that philosopher Michel Foucault broke down to describe a prison’s use of the panopticon in Discipline and Punish. — Literary Hub, 19 May 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