as in enclosed
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as in housed
to close or shut in by or as if by barriers
remember to pen up the dogs when visitors come over
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in wrote
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
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Recent Examples of penned
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 11 Sep. 2025
Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2026
Given Humanoid’s success, Schaeffler has already penned a five-year collaboration to deploy hundreds of robots across its global operations.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 16 Feb. 2026
The two penned a deal and Berry became a master franchiser of the bubble tea company.
—Ernestine Siu, CNBC, 16 Feb. 2026
Loosely inspired by Marco Bellocchio’s 1965 debut Fists in the Pocket, the scathing takedown of the bourgeoisie that put the Italian director on the map, Rosebush Pruning was penned by Efthimis Filippou.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
In Italy, academics like Ettore Romagnoli organized an authoritarian spectacle to celebrate two millennia of Horace, the priest Vittorio Genovesi wrote encomiums to Italian imperial ambitions in Rome’s Mare Nostrum, and the Latinist Luigi Illuminati who penned an epic dedicated to Il Duce.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
Culkin penned a moving tribute to O’Hara and posted photos of them sharing an embrace in their 1990 holiday hit and a 2023 reunion at the ceremony for Culkin’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Strindberg, a prolific Swedish author who penned this work in 1900 as one of about 60, was ground zero for Scandinavian noir.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
The song’s lyrics come from a poem his great grandmother penned more than a century ago.
—Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
The Michael Finch penned movie also stars Russell Crowe, Marisa Abela, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Dave Bautista and Max Zhang.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
The project, which is penned by his long-term collaborator Kata Weber, stars Adams with a supporting cast including Murray Bartlett, Chloe East, Brett Goldstein, Dan Levy, Redding Munsell, Jenny Slate and Rainn Wilson.
—Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2026
Given Humanoid’s success, Schaeffler has already penned a five-year collaboration to deploy hundreds of robots across its global operations.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 16 Feb. 2026
The two penned a deal and Berry became a master franchiser of the bubble tea company.
—Ernestine Siu, CNBC, 16 Feb. 2026
Loosely inspired by Marco Bellocchio’s 1965 debut Fists in the Pocket, the scathing takedown of the bourgeoisie that put the Italian director on the map, Rosebush Pruning was penned by Efthimis Filippou.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
In Italy, academics like Ettore Romagnoli organized an authoritarian spectacle to celebrate two millennia of Horace, the priest Vittorio Genovesi wrote encomiums to Italian imperial ambitions in Rome’s Mare Nostrum, and the Latinist Luigi Illuminati who penned an epic dedicated to Il Duce.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
Culkin penned a moving tribute to O’Hara and posted photos of them sharing an embrace in their 1990 holiday hit and a 2023 reunion at the ceremony for Culkin’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Strindberg, a prolific Swedish author who penned this work in 1900 as one of about 60, was ground zero for Scandinavian noir.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
The song’s lyrics come from a poem his great grandmother penned more than a century ago.
—Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penned
Adjective
-
Detectives say the pair burglarized Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters around 2:50 a.m. on May 25 and fished in the Marathon establishment’s enclosed lagoon, catching a 55-inch tarpon.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
29 Jan. 2026
-
All the research on this question had been done in small, enclosed spaces.—
Yasemin Saplakoglu,
Quanta Magazine,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The 90-minute session also allows visitors to feed caged zookeepers, who are dressed up as pandas, with apple pieces.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
-
That’s why caged parrots are prone to atherosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke, Windsor says.—
Rene Ebersole,
Rolling Stone,
18 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The most prevalent problem the officer saw among imprisoned immigrants was psychological.—
Amy Maxmen,
Miami Herald,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Habeas petitions are, as a rule, the last option for an imprisoned person to void their convictions.—
Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
17 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penned. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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