as in prison
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
a sentence in the state penitentiary for robbery
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Recent Examples of penitentiary
On top of her one-year sentence on obscenity charges, Adams was sentenced to six months at a women’s penitentiary—a pair of punishments that allowed authorities to start considering whether to ship her back to Poland upon her release from prison.
—
Kellie B. Gormly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 June 2025
These inmates come from every BOP security level from minimum security campers to those coming from high security U.S. penitentiaries.
—Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
The Torchlight Tour at Fremantle Prison takes visitors into the cells, tunnels, and courtyards of the prison, all by handheld light, with guides recounting the stories of those imprisoned in the 19th-century penitentiary.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 2025
But their attempts to address more fundamental corruption backfire; many interpret their pragmatic cooperation with the government as carrying water for Juan Orlando Hernández, a strongman president later exposed as a drug trafficker who is now serving a 45-year sentence in a U.S. penitentiary.
—Katherine Corcoran, New York Times, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Kellie B. Gormly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 June 2025
These inmates come from every BOP security level from minimum security campers to those coming from high security U.S. penitentiaries.
—Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
The Torchlight Tour at Fremantle Prison takes visitors into the cells, tunnels, and courtyards of the prison, all by handheld light, with guides recounting the stories of those imprisoned in the 19th-century penitentiary.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 2025
But their attempts to address more fundamental corruption backfire; many interpret their pragmatic cooperation with the government as carrying water for Juan Orlando Hernández, a strongman president later exposed as a drug trafficker who is now serving a 45-year sentence in a U.S. penitentiary.
—Katherine Corcoran, New York Times, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penitentiary
Noun
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Between 2020 and 2023, 529 people died in general population Tennessee prisons, excluding 162 deaths that occurred in a medical unit prison.—
Melissa Brown,
The Tennessean,
15 July 2025
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What To Know According to an anonymous source speaking to the Daily Mail, Maxwell, who was convicted in 2022 over her links to Epstein's illicit activities and is serving a 20-year prison sentence, has expressed a willingness to testify before Congress about her experiences.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 July 2025
Noun
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In an interview with NBC News, Noem pushed back on criticisms of the site’s conditions, insisting the facility exceeds federal standards and disputing characterizations of it as a jail.—
Yezen Saadah,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
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As reported in 5280, Richard served 30 days in jail and 60 nights of work release.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
15 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penitentiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penitentiary. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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