as in shelters
something (as a building) that offers cover from the weather or protection from danger
the embassy serves as an asylum for that country's nationals in need of help
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Recent Examples of asylums
Conditions varied, but some asylums gained reputations as brutal, overcrowded warehouses where patients were neglected and restrained.
—
ABC News, 24 May 2026
In the first half of the twentieth century, a new spirit of unchecked experimentation swept through the wards of the major asylums of America and Europe as doctors devised increasingly bizarre and sometimes cruel interventions with almost no legal oversight.
—Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
For example, sociologist Erving Goffman showed that the way care is structured in asylums shaped how patients are treated.
—Jennifer Singh, The Conversation, 8 Jan. 2026
Such a light as this should shine only on murders and public crime, or along the corridors of lunatic asylums.
—Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Many former asylums are now macabre tourist attractions, whose treatment of their subject matter can range from the sensitive to the sensationalist.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
But worst of all is the knowledge that all of these terrors were trademarks of the asylums that stowed away those with mental health conditions well into the 20th century.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
ABC News, 24 May 2026
In the first half of the twentieth century, a new spirit of unchecked experimentation swept through the wards of the major asylums of America and Europe as doctors devised increasingly bizarre and sometimes cruel interventions with almost no legal oversight.
—Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
For example, sociologist Erving Goffman showed that the way care is structured in asylums shaped how patients are treated.
—Jennifer Singh, The Conversation, 8 Jan. 2026
Such a light as this should shine only on murders and public crime, or along the corridors of lunatic asylums.
—Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Many former asylums are now macabre tourist attractions, whose treatment of their subject matter can range from the sensitive to the sensationalist.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
But worst of all is the knowledge that all of these terrors were trademarks of the asylums that stowed away those with mental health conditions well into the 20th century.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asylums
Noun
-
And a few, like Giuliana Rancic, will flog some specific Pratt issues, like the brutal state of the city’s animal shelters.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
10 June 2026
-
While in office, Raman has voted dozens of times against establishing new no-camping zones near homeless shelters, senior centers, freeway overpasses and other locations.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
At the turn of the 20th century, the great institutions of urban life — libraries, museums, post offices, train stations — were conceived as luxurious refuges for those who could only afford necessities.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
8 June 2026
-
Gollner said refuges could save lives in some situations, but would need to be identified in advance by local emergency managers charged with wildfire response, who would decide when to use them.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
Staying active is also not confined to the brick-and-mortar gym anymore, especially after Covid-era restrictions influenced many to build sweat sanctuaries at home, invest in equipment like Pelotons, or simply power on a YouTube video and hop on a yoga mat in their living rooms.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
4 June 2026
-
Both the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem and the Palladium Ballroom in midtown, sanctuaries of Lindy Hop, mambo, and salsa, were integrated.—
Marina Harss,
New Yorker,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
The multifaceted stories the surveys tell will mark some of the US’s advances over 50 years, but also its retreats.—
Greg Allen,
ARTnews.com,
7 June 2026
-
Stevie retreats into the endcap of the aisle, to hide behind chips the size of feed bags, and this is how Stevie is sick in the head.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Once a stronghold of canneries and lumber mills, the town has numerous tumbledown Victorians that have long been havens for artists, brewers, and various eccentrics—along with fans of The Goonies, who make pilgrimages to see where the seminal movie was shot.—
David Amsden,
Travel + Leisure,
10 June 2026
-
An end to the war would ease concerns throughout a region that saw Gulf havens and travel hubs like the United Arab Emirates struck by Iranian missiles and drones.—
Aimee Picchi,
CBS News,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Asylums.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asylums. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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