prison

noun

ˈpri-zᵊn How to pronounce prison (audio)
Definition of prisonnext
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of prison All violations would carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. — Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026 Messner spent about two years in prison after being convicted of bankruptcy fraud in 1995, while Tammy Faye later died of colon cancer in 2007. — Greg Norman-Diamond, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026 Mike Smith, the first person to face federal charges tied to music streaming fraud, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026 Responsibility and the ability to work with others are important elements of prison rehabilitation, said Monica Njoroge, a project officer at Resources Oriented Development Initiatives. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for prison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prison
  1. jail
  2. captivity
  3. penitentiary
  4. internment
  5. imprisonment
  6. incarceration
  7. confinement
Noun
  • Guillen-Molina was being held in the Jackson County jail on a $200,000 cash-only bond.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Nantambu spent a month in a Middle Eastern jail before proving that Brown lied.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of jail
Noun
  • Rescue tells the story of Roro, a Yemeni mother of young children fighting to reunite her family after a Mediterranean rescue operation left her separated from her husband and held in captivity in Libya.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Even more surprisingly, the 24-year-old doe that lived in captivity in Kerr Wildlife Management Area actually birthed a fawn in her final year.
    — Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of captivity
Noun
  • Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, is set to die by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
  • LeJames Norman, 40, was put to death by lethal injection Wednesday at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of penitentiary
Noun
  • Even local landmarks can have a part in shameful history, with de Courcy noting that Memorial Auditorium was a staging area for the shipment of Japanese American residents to internment camps for during World War II.
    — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Aliens land in Johannesburg in 1982 seeking refuge, but instead they're crammed into an internment camp called District 9.
    — Grace Dean, Space.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of internment
Noun
  • The award is named after Justice Albie Sachs, a hero of the anti-apartheid movement who survived imprisonment, exile and an assassination attempt in the fight for equality in South Africa.
    — Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s top-secret doc is 174 minutes and follows Theranos founder and fraudster Elizabeth Holmes in her final days of freedom and first few weeks of imprisonment.
    — Isabelle Farina, Variety, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of imprisonment
Noun
  • Judge Underhill could have added to the 10 years of incarceration that the federal sentencing guidelines recommend but instead departed downward from them and shaved three years off them.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 3 Oct. 2026
  • This mandated that at least 10% of locally generated, unrestricted revenue be allocated to incarceration alternatives, advancing what was called the county’s Care First, Jails Last vision.
    — Jon Regardie, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of incarceration
Noun
  • Brown’s attorney, Ellen Comley, asked that he be sentenced to probation and home confinement.
    — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The first year was to be served in home confinement without electronic monitoring.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of confinement

Browse Nearby Words

prismatic
prison
prison camp
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Cite this Entry

“Prison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prison. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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