as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
were amazed by the squalid, cramped quarters in the town's historic bastille
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Recent Examples of bastille
For his part, Bowie celebrated the election by joining forces with John Barleycorn and evicting the residents of the local bastille.
—
Robert Kolarik, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Feb. 2018
In these wet, wooden bastilles in New York waters, more Americans died than in all the battles of the Revolutionary War combined.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Smithsonian, 13 Mar. 2017
Robert Kolarik, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Feb. 2018
In these wet, wooden bastilles in New York waters, more Americans died than in all the battles of the Revolutionary War combined.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Smithsonian, 13 Mar. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastille
Noun
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Tom and Hussein were then arrested and booked into jail for negligent discharge, police said.—
Brandon Downs,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
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The former football player died by an apparent suicide in his jail cell in April 2017, five days after being acquitted in the double homicide case in Boston.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Back then, Motta was still in law school and Alfortish had only just been released from prison.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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After being admonished by the judge, Terry Rose listens as he is sentenced to 40 years in prison.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The government opened the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz in 1934, hoping to use the remote island to house particularly difficult prisoners, according to the National Park Service.—
Justine McDaniel,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Apr. 2026
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But Wood’s penitentiary is considerably sturdier.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bastille.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastille. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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