1
as in jail
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 captivity
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 prison
He was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison, of which 10 were suspended.
—
Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today, 2 May 2025
Charity pretends to be Emily and confesses to all the murders to take her place in prison.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 2 May 2025
The two owners were charged with harboring aliens, a crime with a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
—Mattathias Schwartz, New York Times, 2 May 2025
Life without parole for Highland Park shooter The man who killed seven people and wounded nearly 50 in a mass shooting in 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois, was sentenced April 24 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
—Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prison
Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today, 2 May 2025
Charity pretends to be Emily and confesses to all the murders to take her place in prison.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 2 May 2025
The two owners were charged with harboring aliens, a crime with a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
—Mattathias Schwartz, New York Times, 2 May 2025
Life without parole for Highland Park shooter The man who killed seven people and wounded nearly 50 in a mass shooting in 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois, was sentenced April 24 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
—Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prison
Noun
-
He was convicted and died in jail while awaiting sentencing in 2023.—
Eric Shawn,
FOXNews.com,
3 May 2025
-
Some former members of the fraternity were sentenced to several days in jail for providing alcohol at an initiation event to a minor, and Washington State University removed official recognition of the fraternity until May 2026.—
Alisha Ebrahimji,
CNN Money,
3 May 2025
Noun
-
There are 59 hostages still in Gaza, at least 24 of whom are assessed to be alive, including American-Israeli Edan Alexander, now 21 years old after having spent two birthdays in Hamas captivity.—
Caitlin McFall,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 2025
-
Keith Siegel is a 65-year-old American-Israeli who survived 484 days in Hamas captivity after being abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, 2023.—
Mohammed Soliman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Barnes, 67, was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in a Russian penitentiary in February 2024.—
Tanya Stukalova,
ABC News,
18 Apr. 2025
-
The first penitentiaries weren’t built until the late 1700s, so more extreme sentences were deemed necessary to prevent discord.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
29 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
There’s a permanent collection of over 60,000 artifacts and the exhibitions are impressively disparate: Shows examine everything from the cultural legacy of Hello Kitty to WWII-era Japanese internment camps.—
Mae Hamilton,
AFAR Media,
1 May 2025
-
In an office-wide email obtained by ProPublica, Martin quoted an unnamed contact who compared the DOJ’s use of the obstruction statute to President Franklin Roosevelt’s decision to imprison more than 100,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II.—
Andy Kroll,
ProPublica,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Despite participation, many youth continue to experience homelessness, incarceration, and mental health challenges.—
First Place for Youth,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
-
Punishments for disobeying contempt orders can range from fines to jail time, though incarceration is a rare and extreme recourse.—
Henry Gass,
Christian Science Monitor,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
For its investigation, the California Justice Department staff worked with a team of correctional and healthcare experts to examine a range of conditions of confinement — including use of force, discipline, access to healthcare and due process — in the state’s immigration detention facilities.—
Jenny Jarvie,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2025
-
Reports from inside the facility reveal dire conditions, including insufficient food and water, unsanitary confinement, and medical neglect.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prison. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share