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

The Stockyards was once a site for livestock pens but has been reimagined as a retail hub. — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

The holding pens are divided into smaller units, used as offices, studios, cafes, clubs and restaurants. — New Atlas, 9 Oct. 2026

As the air alarm sounds over Izium, the children drop their drawing pens, tubes of glue, and felt-cutting scissors in unison and make for the door. — Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Oct. 2026

Nail Polish Pens Create your own nail art or tackle quick touch ups with precision polish pens that dry in about 60 seconds. — ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026

Even small items like mason jars can be repurposed to hold pens and pencils or makeup brushes, the Salvation Army team says. — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 25 Sep. 2026

But the gates leading into the ostrich pens were now behind police lines. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

This craft set comes with a notepad, eraser, sticker sheet, three markers, and two pens, all packed inside a decorative ramen cup that doubles as a desk pen holder. — Anja Webb, Parents, 18 Sep. 2026

Stain remover pens like Tide to Go’s fan-favorite version can save you on the plane, in the restaurant, or even just strolling down the street with your iced latte. — Brandon Schultz, Travel + Leisure, 18 Sep. 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