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
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Recent Examples of prisons
Questions had emerged over the fate of thousands of Islamic State prisoners, and their families in northeastern Syria after government forces last month seized swaths of territory long controlled by Kurdish forces that had been guarding the prisons.
—
Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 25 Feb. 2026
Revisiting the case in December 2024, a Cold Case Unit detective searched the suspects’ profiles against DNA profiles of people incarcerated in Florida prisons to look for possible relatives.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 25 Feb. 2026
Correctional officers are leaving their jobs at federal prisons.
—February 25, NPR, 25 Feb. 2026
During these first weeks on the ground, Martha acquired routines and reams of notes from hospitals and prisons, assiduously compiling them every night back at the Hotel Florida, and a single friend, but no bolt of inspiration.
—Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
Now a personal trainer, Nelson spent more than 17 years in maximum- and medium-security prisons.
—Travis Pinson, Dallas Morning News, 24 Feb. 2026
In 2020, over 110,000 people lived in California prisons.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 24 Feb. 2026
Series about once-taboo topics, like torture in Assad’s notorious prisons, are being shot inside Syria.
—ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
On January 31, the domestic oppositionists Abdollah Momeni, Mehdi Mahmoudian, and Vida Rabbani were swept up and sent to prisons in northern Iran, far from their Tehran residences.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2026
Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 25 Feb. 2026
Revisiting the case in December 2024, a Cold Case Unit detective searched the suspects’ profiles against DNA profiles of people incarcerated in Florida prisons to look for possible relatives.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 25 Feb. 2026
Correctional officers are leaving their jobs at federal prisons.
—February 25, NPR, 25 Feb. 2026
During these first weeks on the ground, Martha acquired routines and reams of notes from hospitals and prisons, assiduously compiling them every night back at the Hotel Florida, and a single friend, but no bolt of inspiration.
—Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
Now a personal trainer, Nelson spent more than 17 years in maximum- and medium-security prisons.
—Travis Pinson, Dallas Morning News, 24 Feb. 2026
In 2020, over 110,000 people lived in California prisons.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 24 Feb. 2026
Series about once-taboo topics, like torture in Assad’s notorious prisons, are being shot inside Syria.
—ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
On January 31, the domestic oppositionists Abdollah Momeni, Mehdi Mahmoudian, and Vida Rabbani were swept up and sent to prisons in northern Iran, far from their Tehran residences.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prisons
Noun
-
So far this fiscal year, the department has paid over $16 million to county jails to house state inmates, just under $2 million of which has gone to Ada County, said Mortensen, the spokesperson, in an email.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Last year, Colorado lawmakers briefly debated blocking ICE agents from entering nonpublic areas of jails.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The wave of prison violence is happening despite the deployment of military and police forces in several penitentiaries.—
Michael Rios,
CNN Money,
8 Dec. 2025
-
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
-
Despite their felony convictions and impending incarcerations, both former Met police career criminals continue to collect their monthly kisses in the mail — $8,850 a month for Cederquist and $6,020 for Butner.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Baltimore leaders say that 87% of young men enrolled in Roca Baltimore for 24 months have no new incarcerations, while those who stay in the program for three years are 19% less likely to return to a life of crime than other similarly aged men in Maryland.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
4 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prisons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prisons. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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