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
The bill would expand that curriculum to require prisoners to acknowledge the impact and trauma of their crimes.
—
Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2026
Francis’ aim was to give prisoners hope and to remind them the church was with them, while also shining a spotlight on judicial abuses, overcrowding and other injustices.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
Edens agreed but said that 48 of the prisoners in the study were transferred into the general population at some point and researchers looked at their disciplinary history during that time.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2026
After the jury heard from an expert witness on mental health and prisoners, the second witness to take the stand was Horner's mother.
—Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026
In 2023, the Writers Guild of America appeared to take no prisoners in its contract negotiations.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2026
The Cuban government recently began releasing over 2,000 prisoners, but human-rights organizations said political prisoners have been excluded so far.
—Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2026
The facility housed prisoners from 1872 to 1973, including Harry Orchard, who murdered former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg, and Henry Meeks, believed to be a member of Butch Cassidy’s gang.
—Nathan Diller, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2026
Spiegel himself was a twin; his sister was kept with female prisoners, and due to his past as a soldier, Mengele put him in charge of the children.
—Alexandra Schonfeld, PEOPLE, 14 Apr. 2026
Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2026
Francis’ aim was to give prisoners hope and to remind them the church was with them, while also shining a spotlight on judicial abuses, overcrowding and other injustices.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
Edens agreed but said that 48 of the prisoners in the study were transferred into the general population at some point and researchers looked at their disciplinary history during that time.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2026
After the jury heard from an expert witness on mental health and prisoners, the second witness to take the stand was Horner's mother.
—Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026
In 2023, the Writers Guild of America appeared to take no prisoners in its contract negotiations.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2026
The Cuban government recently began releasing over 2,000 prisoners, but human-rights organizations said political prisoners have been excluded so far.
—Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2026
The facility housed prisoners from 1872 to 1973, including Harry Orchard, who murdered former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg, and Henry Meeks, believed to be a member of Butch Cassidy’s gang.
—Nathan Diller, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2026
Spiegel himself was a twin; his sister was kept with female prisoners, and due to his past as a soldier, Mengele put him in charge of the children.
—Alexandra Schonfeld, PEOPLE, 14 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prisoners
captives
Noun
-
Sports franchises everywhere can be tacky, rapacious, incompetent, extortionate, and otherwise exploitative, but only because their customers, the fans, are essentially captives.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The ministry identified the freed captives as Russian citizen Oleg Gret and Ukrainian citizen Yuri Yurov.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prisoners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prisoners. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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