PENITENTIARIES Synonyms: 51 Similar and Opposite Words

penitentiaries

noun

plural of penitentiary

as in prisons

a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody a sentence in the state penitentiary for robbery

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

outsides

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 penitentiaries Mexico has 276 prisons, including 14 federal penitentiaries and 249 state prisons. — ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026 Hodge says he was abused in multiple federal penitentiaries, but was frequently blocked from filing complaints about it. — Christie Thompson, NPR, 13 July 2026 This includes providing the Colombian military more leeway in the field, signing a new security agreement with Washington and building 10 mega-prisons that mimic Bukele’s network of penitentiaries in El Salvador. — Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2026 Behind bars in state penitentiaries in Gatesville and Marlin, Mejia felt forgotten. — Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for penitentiaries

Noun

The Israeli Supreme Court earlier this year ordered the government to resume sharing such lists and allowing the ICRC to visit detainees in Israeli prisons to assess their conditions.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
Flávio has promised to designate major criminal factions as terrorist groups, expand prisons and lower the age of criminal responsibility.

— Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of prisons

Noun

No record of Gutierrez’s arrest appears in an online database maintained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which oversees county jails, suggesting that he may have been booked in the LAPD’s detention facilities.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Unlike municipalities, Florida sheriffs offices and county jails were mandated to sign 287(g) agreements.

— Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of jails

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penitential

penitentiaries

penitentiary

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Style

“Penitentiaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penitentiaries. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of penitentiaries

noun

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