Synonyms of pen

pen 1 of 5

noun (1)

as in penitentiary

a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody

earned six years in a federal pen

Synonyms & Similar Words

• penitentiary
• jail
• prison
• coop
• brig
• jug
• cage
• hock
• jailhouse
• cooler
• big house
• lockup
• stockade
• bridewell
• calaboose
• guardroom
• pokey
• joint
• slammer
• hoosegow
• tank
• bastille
• nick
• clink
• cell
• stir
• slam
• hold
• tolbooth
• quod
• can
• bull pen
• dungeon
• hole
• ward
• guardhouse
• block
• labor camp
• concentration camp
• keep
• prison camp
• work camp
• gulag
• stalag
• glasshouse
• reform school
• oubliette
• hulk(s)
• reformatory
• training school

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• outside

pen

2 of 5

noun (2)

as in cage

an enclosure with an open framework for keeping animals

a goat pen

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cage
• coop
• corral
• pound
• kennel
• hutch
• fence
• fold
• stockade
• kraal
• cote
• aquarium
• henhouse
• run
• pigpen
• dovecote
• sheepfold
• terrarium
• live-box

pen

3 of 5

noun (3)

as in writer

a person who creates a written work

Alexander Hamilton is reckoned to be the pseudonymous pen behind two thirds of the Federalist Papers

Synonyms & Similar Words

• writer
• author
• novelist
• man of letters
• biographer
• poet
• storyteller
• woman of letters
• penman
• litterateur
• scribe
• scrivener
• scribbler
• screenwriter
• blogger
• playwright
• dramatist
• wordsmith
• stylist
• columnist
• reporter
• ghostwriter
• journalist
• cowriter
• hack
• essayist
• coauthor
• memoirist
• fictionist
• memorialist
• autobiographer
• scriptwriter
• auteur
• hatchet man
• pamphleteer
• hagiographer
• bard
• belletrist
• fabulist
• satirist
• scenarist
• versifier
• fictioneer
• newspaperman
• sportswriter
• romancer
• wordmonger
• rhymer
• coscenarist
• paragrapher
• proser
• prosaist
• prosateur

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• nonauthor

pen

4 of 5

verb (1)

ˈpen 

as in to house

to close or shut in by or as if by barriers

remember to pen up the dogs when visitors come over

Synonyms & Similar Words

• house
• cage
• enclose
• confine
• closet
• box (in)
• encase
• fence (in)
• hem (in)
• include
• wall (in)
• hedge
• surround
• envelop
• corral
• encage
• mew (up)
• coop (up)
• bound
• immure
• ring
• limit
• restrict
• contain
• circumscribe
• armor
• encompass
• frame
• enframe
• encircle
• enfold
• encapsule
• enlace
• encapsulate
• ensheathe
• ensphere
• cocoon
• encyst
• enwomb

pen

5 of 5

verb (2)

as in to write

to compose and set down on paper the words of

though relatively unknown at the time of his death, the composer had penned some of the most memorable show tunes of his era

Synonyms & Similar Words

• write
• author
• scribble
• compose
• scratch (out)
• record
• print
• craft
• letter
• type
• rewrite
• sign
• draft
• formulate
• word
• revise
• transcribe
• cast
• draw up
• phrase
• prepare
• pencil (in)
• recast
• typewrite
• redraft
• frame
• couch
• take down
• autograph
• register
• put
• express

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pen

Noun

There are still pen-and-paper note takers roaming the scouting ranks. —Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026

The brain dump requires nothing more than a pen and paper. —Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 4 Mar. 2026

Verb

The script, penned by Bartek Bartosik and Naqqash Khalid, becomes bizarrely moralistic by the end, insinuating that the debased and debauched might perhaps see their problems solved by becoming domesticated. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 6 Mar. 2026

The Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City penned a note following the news of McDuffie’s trade. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2026