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
Early last year, prison officials transferred Hernández out of the federal detention center in Brooklyn, which largely holds pretrial detainees, and sent him to the high-security Hazelton penitentiary in West Virginia.
—
Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 18 Feb. 2026
He was arrested again in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1961 and spent four months in a penitentiary where fellow Freedom Riders cried out in song each night.
—Veronica Ortega, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
Azcarate sentenced Magalhaes to 10 years in the penitentiary and two years suspended.
—Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 13 Feb. 2026
Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, an 8-year-old in West Baltimore at the time of the murder, offers piercing commentary on the impact of both the initial crime and the succeeding one, the grievously unjust trial that put three kids in the penitentiary.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 18 Feb. 2026
He was arrested again in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1961 and spent four months in a penitentiary where fellow Freedom Riders cried out in song each night.
—Veronica Ortega, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
Azcarate sentenced Magalhaes to 10 years in the penitentiary and two years suspended.
—Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 13 Feb. 2026
Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, an 8-year-old in West Baltimore at the time of the murder, offers piercing commentary on the impact of both the initial crime and the succeeding one, the grievously unjust trial that put three kids in the penitentiary.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penitentiary
Noun
-
He was beaten by security forces, arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2026
-
During his 12-year pontificate, Francis famously celebrated the Holy Thursday ritual by traveling to Rome-area prisons and refugee centers to wash the feet of people most on society’s margins.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
This center could break that cycle by getting them the specialized treatment that the jail cannot and does not provide.—
Jim DeFede,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Ramsey, 53, has been held in a Dallas County, Iowa, jail since March 17, with bail set at $2 million.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Penitentiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penitentiary. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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