Synonyms of pens

pens 1 of 5

noun (1)

plural of pen

as in jails

a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody

earned six years in a federal pen

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• outsides

pens

2 of 5

noun (2)

plural of pen

as in cages

an enclosure with an open framework for keeping animals

a goat pen

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cages
• coops
• corrals
• pounds
• kennels
• hutches
• runs
• fences
• aquariums
• kraals
• folds
• stockades
• cotes
• dovecotes
• pigpens
• henhouses
• sheepfolds
• terraria
• live-boxes

pens

3 of 5

noun (3)

plural of pen

as in writers

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

• writers
• authors
• novelists
• men of letters
• women of letters
• poets
• biographers
• storytellers
• penmen
• litterateurs
• scriveners
• scribes
• wordsmiths
• scribblers
• screenwriters
• bloggers
• reporters
• columnists
• playwrights
• stylists
• dramatists
• coauthors
• ghostwriters
• journalists
• cowriters
• belletrists
• essayists
• hacks
• memoirists
• autobiographers
• pamphleteers
• fictionists
• fictioneers
• memorialists
• scriptwriters
• hagiographers
• auteurs
• hatchet men
• bards
• fabulists
• newspapermen
• versifiers
• rhymers
• wordmongers
• satirists
• sportswriters
• scenarists
• romancers
• prosaists
• prosers
• paragraphers
• coscenarists
• prosateurs

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• nonauthors

pens

4 of 5

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of pen

as in houses

to close or shut in by or as if by barriers

remember to pen up the dogs when visitors come over

Synonyms & Similar Words

• houses
• cages
• confines
• encloses
• includes
• closets
• surrounds
• boxes (in)
• hedges
• encases
• corrals
• walls (in)
• fences (in)
• envelops
• hems (in)
• encages
• coops (up)
• mews (up)
• bounds
• rings
• contains
• immures
• limits
• restricts
• encompasses
• circumscribes
• encircles
• frames
• enframes
• enfolds
• encysts
• ensheathes
• encapsules
• armors
• encapsulates
• cocoons
• enlaces
• enspheres
• enwombs

pens

5 of 5

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of pen

as in writes

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

• writes
• authors
• scribbles
• composes
• crafts
• records
• letters
• prints
• types
• scratches (out)
• drafts
• words
• signs
• rewrites
• pencils (in)
• formulates
• transcribes
• recasts
• casts
• draws up
• prepares
• frames
• phrases
• typewrites
• redrafts
• revises
• autographs
• takes down
• registers
• couches
• puts
• expresses

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pens

Noun

If you’re used to pencils or pens, the flexibility can initially feel unfamiliar. — Marci Robin, Allure, 24 July 2026

Davidson is accused of attempting to steal 10 THC vape pens from Liles and threatening the use of a firearm, according to court records. — Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 23 July 2026

There’s jewelry, pendants, pens, bracelets, watches…Will all those things pan out? — Sam Jacobs, Time, 21 July 2026

Items sought include backpacks, notebooks, loose-leaf paper, pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, flash drives, pens, glue sticks and gift cards to be used to buy supplies, according to a news release. — Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026

However, the nicotine in ZYN pouches, also found in vape pens and e-cigarette products, is known to raise heart rates and blood pressure. — Amber Raiken, Verywell Health, 17 July 2026

According to experts, wild brown trout are known to congregate around salmon pens to feed on surplus feed that falls through the net cages, otherwise known as cage-grazing. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026

Test Stray Pens Gather loose pens from your nightstand, purse, and nearby drawers—or even from around your whole house. — Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 12 July 2026

Beyond your computer, there are notebooks, pens, sunglasses, chargers, phone cords, keys, wallets and important papers. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 8 July 2026

Verb

This week, Gracie Abrams pens a tearjerker on mother-daughter relationships, Steve Lacy escapes the abyss of a breakup on a colossal double track, and Beabadoobee contemplates risk and reward on a fuzzy new single. — Rolling Stone, 17 July 2026

Sarah Rothschild pens the screenplay with Elizabeth Cantillon producing. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 27 June 2026

Amazon moved fast to board the project and the film will now be a big priority at the studio as Loeb pens the script. — Justin Kroll, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026

Yousafzai pens a portrait of a young woman discovering her identity amid immense pressure. — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025

The series kicks off when Dale Washberg (Tim Blake Nelson), a member of a powerful Oklahoma family, pens a suicide note, hides it inside a book on his shelves, and then shoots himself in the head. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025

The plot kicks off when the Reverend Mother (a delightful Olivia Colman), who runs the Home for Retired Bears, pens a dire message to Paddington about his beloved Aunt Lucy. — Troy Aidan Sambajon, Christian Science Monitor, 13 Feb. 2025