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
Another, Alfateh Abdullah Idris, who goes by the nickname Abu Lulu, casually begins firing a Kalashnikov rifle down the row of prisoners.
—
Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2025
The numbers posted Saturday show the state has tested 339 prisoners, a fraction of approximately 95,000 inmates in the system.
—Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
Though Pennsylvania did not allow its prisons to contract out incarcerated people’s labor, as in the South, its prisoners were still forced into hard labor without pay.
—Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
The Republican attorney general alleged that Childers illegally allowed prisoners to leave jail, perform work for friends and acquaintances and smuggle in drugs, alcohol and other contraband.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2025
The 2014 report, which included vivid descriptions of unresponsive prisoners after waterboarding and others chained from bars in stress positions for long periods of time, shocked many but did not move Cheney.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2025
Many of the cells are not equipped with alarm buttons because, according to several inmates, other prisoners tampered with them.
—Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 5 Nov. 2025
The goal for the program, launched in 2006 and primarily based in California, is to help prisoners find alternate means of communicating and conflict resolution during eight- to 10-week workshops in prisons across the state.
—Senior Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
In 1934, the couple helped five prisoners escape from Eastham State Prison Farm in Waldo.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Oct. 2025
Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2025
The numbers posted Saturday show the state has tested 339 prisoners, a fraction of approximately 95,000 inmates in the system.
—Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
Though Pennsylvania did not allow its prisons to contract out incarcerated people’s labor, as in the South, its prisoners were still forced into hard labor without pay.
—Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
The Republican attorney general alleged that Childers illegally allowed prisoners to leave jail, perform work for friends and acquaintances and smuggle in drugs, alcohol and other contraband.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2025
The 2014 report, which included vivid descriptions of unresponsive prisoners after waterboarding and others chained from bars in stress positions for long periods of time, shocked many but did not move Cheney.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2025
Many of the cells are not equipped with alarm buttons because, according to several inmates, other prisoners tampered with them.
—Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 5 Nov. 2025
The goal for the program, launched in 2006 and primarily based in California, is to help prisoners find alternate means of communicating and conflict resolution during eight- to 10-week workshops in prisons across the state.
—Senior Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
In 1934, the couple helped five prisoners escape from Eastham State Prison Farm in Waldo.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prisoners
captives
Noun
-
In Empire City, when a hostage crisis erupts inside New York’s landmark Clybourn Building, 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 Nov. 2025
-
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the bodies did not belong to any of the remaining captives.—
Doha Madani,
NBC news,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prisoners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prisoners. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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