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
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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
Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said other issues remain to be resolved between the two countries, including the fate of Lebanese believed to have been disappeared into Syrian prisons during Assad's rule and the demarcation of the border between the two countries.
—
Arkansas Online, 31 Jan. 2026
Under Evers' plan to overhaul the state's system of prisons, the youth prison will be converted into a facility housing adult inmates.
—Molly Beck, jsonline.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Cornish is currently incarcerated at the jail in Canyon County, but will be transferred to one of the state’s prisons to begin serving his lifetime sentence.
—Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 29 Jan. 2026
No plan has yet materialized, but lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee said they were swayed by safety concerns in the prisons and county jails — and by a new willingness from Polis’ staff to discuss prison overcrowding.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 29 Jan. 2026
Employees of the state hospital, highway patrol and other jails and prisons also took home significant overtime pay.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2026
Homan linked the withdrawal of federal immigration forces in the state to the ability for ICE to make arrests inside jails and prisons.
—Brian Bennett, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
This practice erodes programming, delays medical care, and increases fatigue and safety risks for everyone inside federal prisons.
—Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
But Griner has serious bona fides, having spent nearly ten months in Russian prisons, much of it in a brutal penal colony, before being released in a prisoner swap with the United States.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 27 Jan. 2026
Arkansas Online, 31 Jan. 2026
Under Evers' plan to overhaul the state's system of prisons, the youth prison will be converted into a facility housing adult inmates.
—Molly Beck, jsonline.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Cornish is currently incarcerated at the jail in Canyon County, but will be transferred to one of the state’s prisons to begin serving his lifetime sentence.
—Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 29 Jan. 2026
No plan has yet materialized, but lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee said they were swayed by safety concerns in the prisons and county jails — and by a new willingness from Polis’ staff to discuss prison overcrowding.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 29 Jan. 2026
Employees of the state hospital, highway patrol and other jails and prisons also took home significant overtime pay.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2026
Homan linked the withdrawal of federal immigration forces in the state to the ability for ICE to make arrests inside jails and prisons.
—Brian Bennett, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
This practice erodes programming, delays medical care, and increases fatigue and safety risks for everyone inside federal prisons.
—Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
But Griner has serious bona fides, having spent nearly ten months in Russian prisons, much of it in a brutal penal colony, before being released in a prisoner swap with the United States.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prisons
Noun
-
Trump’s border advisor, Tom Homan, announced Thursday that federal authorities would wind down immigration crackdowns in Minnesota, but only if agents were given access to jails to seize undocumented immigrants for deportation.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The government is now looking for cooperation from local jails.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 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
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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 2 Feb. 2026.
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