prison

noun

ˈpri-zᵊn How to pronounce prison (audio)
Definition of prisonnext
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

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 In Michigan, James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of 14-year-old school shooter Ethan Crumbley, were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026 Kagame has been accused of repressive methods to keep his grip on power, with opponents dying in prisons, independent media muzzled, and other abuses. — ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026 Prosecutors said Borrego faces a maximum sentence of 192 years and 4 months to life in prison. — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 20 Oct. 2026 According to court records, Exon Alfonzo Sanchez Garzon was sentenced to over 21 years in prison, with credit for a year and several months already served. — Wcco Staff, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for prison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prison
  1. jail
  2. captivity
  3. penitentiary
  4. internment
  5. imprisonment
  6. incarceration
  7. confinement
Noun
  • The report examined publicly available FBI and immigration arrest data and does not include details about whether charges were dropped or if people served any time in jail or prison.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Look, the Kansas Bill of Rights clearly says you cannot be arrested or thrown in jail because of indebtedness.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of jail
Noun
  • In 1987, biologists captured the last free-flying condor to transfer it to captivity, and the largest flying North American bird species was officially declared extinct in the wild.
    — David Ginsburg, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
  • But their local expertise, connections, courage, and instincts could stave off death or captivity.
    — Ben Taub, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of captivity
Noun
  • Beyond the towering brick walls of the Tarrant County Jail, and every other county jail and state penitentiary in the country, lies an out-of-sight-out-of-mind world that most never see, let alone experience.
    — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Mexico has 276 prisons, including 14 federal penitentiaries and 249 state prisons.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of penitentiary
Noun
  • Adding to the dark absurdity of the situation was the fact that Seghers’s husband, the Hungarian Marxist scholar László Radványi, was being held in a French internment camp, on the basis that Hungary was a German ally.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • At the exhibition’s press opening, curator Cindy Kang talked about trying to dispel the idea that internment was an isolated incident that these artists then moved on from.
    — Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of internment
Noun
  • Douglas detailed his volatile relationship with his late father, Kirk Douglas, his son Cameron’s addiction and imprisonment, and the Stage 4 cancer diagnosis that forced him to confront his own mortality.
    — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • For decades, Florida lawmakers have demanded investigations, indictments and imprisonment for the Cuban leadership involved.
    — Liv Caputo Herald, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of imprisonment
Noun
  • During her incarceration, Runa stopped eating and after her release, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
    — Hanako Montgomery, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Some of those lawmakers also want structural shifts in the country’s penal system, drawing inspiration from the mass-incarceration model of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, if Bolsonaro wins and wants to spend funds toward that end.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of incarceration
Noun
  • Think super-powerful magnets in medical imaging and particle physics experiments; faster circuits that won’t overheat; potential for nuclear fusion plasma confinement.
    — Sven Badoux, New Atlas, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Even with execution dates looming, their death row confinement offers a relatively peaceful oasis.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of confinement

Browse Nearby Words

prismatic
prison
prison camp
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Cite this Entry

“Prison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prison. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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