1
as in jails
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
the ongoing debate whether drug users should go to prison
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in captivities
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 prisons
Brown passed through courts and prisons like other people suffering mental health disorders, said Weaver, the Charlotte NAMI director.
—
Charlotte Observer, 12 Sep. 2025
The facility, Algoa Correctional Center, is one of four Missouri prisons with no air conditioning in any of the housing units.
—Ivy Scott, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2025
Federal prisons house not just sentenced individuals but pretrial detainees who are legally presumed innocent.
—Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
That’s partly because the defendants were tortured in secret CIA prisons, so there are ongoing legal fights over what evidence is admissible.
—NPR, 10 Sep. 2025
About 50,000 people will be held in jails, prisons and other facilities between 2026 and 2029 as a result of the law.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 10 Sep. 2025
Israel's security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, issued a threat to the convoy earlier in September, saying activists will be held in prisons for terrorists and will be denied special privileges, according to media reports.
—Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
Officials also confirmed that two prisons in western Nepal were stormed, leading to the escape of nearly 900 inmates.
—Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The film casted exclusively from theater groups across different states to represent the linguistic diversity found in Indian prisons.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
Charlotte Observer, 12 Sep. 2025
The facility, Algoa Correctional Center, is one of four Missouri prisons with no air conditioning in any of the housing units.
—Ivy Scott, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2025
Federal prisons house not just sentenced individuals but pretrial detainees who are legally presumed innocent.
—Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
That’s partly because the defendants were tortured in secret CIA prisons, so there are ongoing legal fights over what evidence is admissible.
—NPR, 10 Sep. 2025
About 50,000 people will be held in jails, prisons and other facilities between 2026 and 2029 as a result of the law.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 10 Sep. 2025
Israel's security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, issued a threat to the convoy earlier in September, saying activists will be held in prisons for terrorists and will be denied special privileges, according to media reports.
—Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
Officials also confirmed that two prisons in western Nepal were stormed, leading to the escape of nearly 900 inmates.
—Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The film casted exclusively from theater groups across different states to represent the linguistic diversity found in Indian prisons.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prisons
Noun
-
More than 250 people have died while in the agency’s custody in county jails since 2006, a mortality rate significantly higher than in other large jail systems in the state.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The agency investigates all in-custody deaths which occur in Kansas jails and prisons unless the inmate who died was being regularly attended by a physician or the death is ruled natural by an autopsy.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
After his conviction, Gray was sent to Angola, one of the most violent penitentiaries in the country at the time.—
Richard A. Webster,
ProPublica,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The incarcerations have been part of Bukele’s controversial efforts to stem the high crime rates and gang violence that have plagued the country for years.—
Michael Rios,
CNN,
17 Mar. 2025
-
The Body Politic uplifts Baltimore’s relative success in decreasing the city’s homicide and violent crime rate while not increasing incarcerations or the rate of citizen-police interactions.—
Richard Fowler,
Forbes,
3 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Prisons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prisons. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share