Synonyms of prison

prison

noun

ˈpri-zᵊn 

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

• jail
• penitentiary
• brig
• jailhouse
• stockade
• slammer
• lockup
• bridewell
• hoosegow
• coop
• guardroom
• pen
• bastille
• calaboose
• cage
• cooler
• big house
• pokey
• clink
• tolbooth
• hock
• dungeon
• jug
• cell
• joint
• tank
• stir
• quod
• can
• nick
• slam
• ward
• hold
• guardhouse
• bull pen
• gulag
• hole
• reformatory
• prison camp
• stalag
• labor camp
• concentration camp
• work camp
• glasshouse
• oubliette
• block
• keep
• hulk(s)
• reform school
• training school

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• outside

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

• captivity
• internment
• imprisonment
• incarceration
• confinement
• impoundment
• bondage
• servitude
• immurement
• custody
• enslavement
• arrest
• detention
• restriction
• capture
• restraint
• house arrest
• entrapment
• detainer
• detainment

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• release
• liberation
• redemption
• freedom
• emancipation
• liberty
• independence
• manumission

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of prison

Police have opened a case at the township’s police station under the relevant murder provision, which carries a sentence ranging from 10 years in prison to the death penalty. — Grant Peck, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

In 2025 things got more serious for Jair Bolsonaro when he was convicted and sentenced to about 27 years in prison for his role in planning a coup to remain in power after his election defeat. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026

But Ossoff has also dedicated much of his Senate investigative focus to bipartisan probes on more staid topics like abuse in the foster care system, prison conditions and maternal mortality. — Sam Gringlas, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026

Knowingly giving material false testimony to Congress is a crime that carries a possible prison sentence regardless of whether a person is under oath, though it is rarely prosecuted. — Ali Swenson, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026