1
as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
the ongoing debate whether drug users should go to prison
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in captivity
the act of confining or the state of being confined
the view that prison does nothing to cure the criminal—if anything, it makes him worse
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prison
Combs was found guilty of two counts of prostitution back in July, with each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
—
Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 23 Sep. 2025
In January 2025, Axel Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 52 years after admitting to his role in the deadly attack.
—Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
The conviction carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
The acquittals meant Combs was no longer facing the possibility of life in prison.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prison
Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 23 Sep. 2025
In January 2025, Axel Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 52 years after admitting to his role in the deadly attack.
—Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
The conviction carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
The acquittals meant Combs was no longer facing the possibility of life in prison.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prison
Noun
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That included branding civil rights advocacy and speech defamatory, a breach of the peace, or hate speech, and hauling activists into courts and jails.—
Time,
Time,
29 Sep. 2025
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He is being held without bail at the El Dorado County jail, records show.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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While Macron and his colleagues will celebrate, 48 hostages will stay in captivity in Gaza.—
Shannon K. Kingston,
ABC News,
23 Sep. 2025
-
The arbitrary nature of torture places the text in the long genealogy of the captivity narrative; if there is a degree of the adventure yarn in the tale, than there is also something of an Arthur Koestler or an Alexander Solzhenitsyn as well.—
Ed Simon
September 22,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In 2005, the penitentiary was downgraded to medium security, and its name changed to the Federal Correctional Institution.—
Randy Mason,
Kansas City Star,
17 Sep. 2025
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Arcángela and Serafina remain in the women’s penitentiary, continuing to operate illicit businesses and accumulating wealth, but without hope of freedom.—
Isabella Wandermurem,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Protester Noah James Markham arrived holding a Pride flag and carrying a sign that referred to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
22 Sep. 2025
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Ameya sits down with her neighbor's 84-year-old grandmother, who was forced out of California and sent to an internment camp in Wyoming as a young girl.—
Steve Drummond,
NPR,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The titan Chronos, patriarch to all the gods, returns to get revenge for his imprisonment at the hands of his children, taking control of Tartarus and simultaneously waging war on the mortal world via Mount Olympus.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
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Chokr faced a maximum of up to 15 years’ imprisonment, according to officials.—
Lauren Liebhaber,
Kansas City Star,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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What Happens Next Prosecutors have one month to notify Sarkozy of the date of his incarceration.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
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Neither a lengthy period of incarceration nor a pardon will cure people like Meredith of their conspiratorial mind-set, the expert told me.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This approach gets around certain plasma confinement challenges faced by tokamaks, which arise from variations in magnetic coil density around the toroidal ring.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Sep. 2025
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Molina, a window dresser imprisoned for public indecency, escapes the grim reality of their confinement by retelling the plot of a glamorous Hollywood musical featuring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez).—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prison. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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