as in captives
one that has been taken and held in confinement
the prisoners were fed only bread and water twice a day
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Recent Examples of prisoners
Reports from former prisoners and rights organizations describe overcrowding, poor sanitation, extortion and abuse inside its cells.
—
Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has responded with a more aggressive stance toward drug cartels than her predecessor, that has included sending dozens of drug trafficking prisoners to the United States for prosecution.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
The state approved a nearly $16 million funding for renovations, which included building temporary housing for staff, erecting recreation fencing to ensure that ICE detainees are separated from state prisoners, buying equipment and desks for ICE offices, and purchasing vans and buses.
—Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 18 Feb. 2026
Jackson also secures the release of 48 Cuban and Cuban American prisoners in Cuba and brings them back to the United States — most of the Americans released had been jailed on drug-trafficking charges.
—Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
The court and an associated prosecutor’s office were created after a 2011 report by the Council of Europe, a human rights body, following allegations that KLA fighters trafficked human organs taken from prisoners and killed Serbs and fellow ethnic Albanians.
—ABC News, 17 Feb. 2026
During the 1980s and 1990s, Jackson also negotiated the release of dozens of international hostages and prisoners, and became a vocal supporter of voting and LGBTQ rights.
—Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 17 Feb. 2026
The two sides agreed to swap 314 prisoners in the first such exchange in five months, Steve Witkoff said in a post on X on Thursday.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 6 Feb. 2026
Biden's commutations on Monday changed the sentences of 37 of 40 death row prisoners to life in prison without parole.
—Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024
Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has responded with a more aggressive stance toward drug cartels than her predecessor, that has included sending dozens of drug trafficking prisoners to the United States for prosecution.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
The state approved a nearly $16 million funding for renovations, which included building temporary housing for staff, erecting recreation fencing to ensure that ICE detainees are separated from state prisoners, buying equipment and desks for ICE offices, and purchasing vans and buses.
—Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 18 Feb. 2026
Jackson also secures the release of 48 Cuban and Cuban American prisoners in Cuba and brings them back to the United States — most of the Americans released had been jailed on drug-trafficking charges.
—Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
The court and an associated prosecutor’s office were created after a 2011 report by the Council of Europe, a human rights body, following allegations that KLA fighters trafficked human organs taken from prisoners and killed Serbs and fellow ethnic Albanians.
—ABC News, 17 Feb. 2026
During the 1980s and 1990s, Jackson also negotiated the release of dozens of international hostages and prisoners, and became a vocal supporter of voting and LGBTQ rights.
—Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 17 Feb. 2026
The two sides agreed to swap 314 prisoners in the first such exchange in five months, Steve Witkoff said in a post on X on Thursday.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 6 Feb. 2026
Biden's commutations on Monday changed the sentences of 37 of 40 death row prisoners to life in prison without parole.
—Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prisoners
captives
Noun
-
Both sides were initially uncertain about how to handle enemy captives.—
Drew Gilpin Faust,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2026
-
In Empire City, when a hostage crisis erupts inside New York’s landmark Clybourn Building, former Navy SEAL turned firefighter Rhett (Butler), his squad, and his NYPD wife Dani (Atwell) must fight and navigate their way through the building to rescue the captives.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prisoners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prisoners. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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