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
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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
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Recent Examples of prison
The budget will also allocate $45 billion for immigration detention centers — which is 62% more than the budget for the entire federal prison system — and could result in daily detention numbers of at least 116,000 noncitizens, according to the American Immigration Council.
—
Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2025
According to the state Department of Justice, 97% of graduates stayed out of state prisons.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 4 July 2025
Five signers went to prison and others endured assorted hardships, but none went on bended knee to George III.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 3 July 2025
What To Know Shannon McShane was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to influencing a public servant, perjury, and retaliation against a witness or victim.
—Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prison
Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2025
According to the state Department of Justice, 97% of graduates stayed out of state prisons.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 4 July 2025
Five signers went to prison and others endured assorted hardships, but none went on bended knee to George III.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 3 July 2025
What To Know Shannon McShane was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to influencing a public servant, perjury, and retaliation against a witness or victim.
—Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prison
Noun
-
Following Shelia's arrest, she was held in jail without bail, per MetroNews.—
Alex Gurley,
People.com,
6 July 2025
-
On June 23, 2012, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, convicted Chávez of the offense of driving under the influence of alcohol and sentenced him to 13 days in jail and 36 months’ probation.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
5 July 2025
Noun
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At least 20 living hostages are believed to still remain in Hamas captivity.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 July 2025
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Zelensky said most of the Ukrainians had been in Russian captivity since 2022.—
Hanna Arhirova,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2025
Noun
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Her various occupations, paid and unpaid, included teaching convicts at an area penitentiary and substitute-teaching in junior high.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 June 2025
-
At the beloved attraction in San Francisco Bay, visitors could scarcely believe Trump had suggested turning Alcatraz back into a penitentiary.—
Heather Knight,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
Noun
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Another internment site was a cremation vessel that held the remains of three people, two large knives and several other relics associated with central Mexico.—
Kerry Breen
July 10,
CBS News,
10 July 2025
-
Ephemeral, at 2301 E. 28th Ave., occupies the former Ben’s Market, a convenience store that was started in the 1940s by a Japanese family released from the World War II-era Japanese internment facility known as Camp Amache, in the town of Granada.—
Miguel Otárola,
Denver Post,
8 July 2025
Noun
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The divorced father of three said he was detained in 2013 following an incarceration for violating probation related to a drug offense.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 July 2025
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This panel will examine mass incarceration through multiple lenses and how the criminal justice system serves as a point of crisis of public health, black wealth building, voter disenfranchisement, and family structure.—
Essence,
Essence,
6 July 2025
Noun
-
The central function of the judiciary, in all places, is the protection of individuals against arbitrary confinement by the executive.—
George Liebmann,
Baltimore Sun,
2 July 2025
-
Alcatraz prison embodied terror, isolation and despair, where hardened criminals faced relentless confinement on a desolate rock surrounded by icy, inescapable waters.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prison. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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