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
Behind bars in state penitentiaries in Gatesville and Marlin, Mejia felt forgotten.
—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penitentiary
Noun
-
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
-
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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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
Cite this Entry
“Penitentiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penitentiary. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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