Synonyms of penitentiaries

penitentiaries

noun

plural of penitentiary

as in prisons

a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody

a sentence in the state penitentiary for robbery

Synonyms & Similar Words

• prisons
• jails
• brigs
• stockades
• lockups
• pens
• coops
• cages
• coolers
• big houses
• guardrooms
• hocks
• bastilles
• jugs
• dungeons
• tanks
• joints
• quods
• jailhouses
• pokeys
• bridewells
• cans
• cells
• slammers
• clinks
• tolbooths
• nicks
• calabooses
• stirs
• hoosegows
• wards
• slams
• reformatories
• holes
• guardhouses
• hulks
• bull pens
• gulags
• holds
• labor camps
• prison camps
• concentration camps
• work camps
• glasshouses
• keeps
• blocks
• reform schools
• training schools
• oubliettes
• stalags

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• outsides

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of penitentiaries

Hodge says he was abused in multiple federal penitentiaries, but was frequently blocked from filing complaints about it. — Christie Thompson, NPR, 13 July 2026

This includes providing the Colombian military more leeway in the field, signing a new security agreement with Washington and building 10 mega-prisons that mimic Bukele’s network of penitentiaries in El Salvador. — Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2026

Behind bars in state penitentiaries in Gatesville and Marlin, Mejia felt forgotten. — Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026

The wave of prison violence is happening despite the deployment of military and police forces in several penitentiaries. — Michael Rios, CNN Money, 8 Dec. 2025

After his conviction, Gray was sent to Angola, one of the most violent penitentiaries in the country at the time. — Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 25 Aug. 2025