panopticon

noun

pan·op·ti·con pə-ˈnäp-ti-ˌkän

pa-

plural panopticons

: an optical instrument combining the telescope and microscope

: a circular prison built with cells arranged radially so that a guard at a central position can see all the prisoners

Examples of panopticon in a Sentence

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Even the panopticon quality that feels so weighted toward the White Spoons gets a radical readjustment. —

Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2024 Yasmin, in particular, is surrounded by the panopticon of phone cameras, from passersby as well as paparazzi. —

Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2024 The place was a panopticon: dorms and common spaces radiating out in spokes from a central nurse’s station, where a portrait of Freud kept a watchful eye over all the patients. —

Constance Grady, Vox, 20 July 2024 Cars with paper plates or none at all to avoid tickets and the police panopticon that now includes license plate readers, with drivers blaring their engines and paying no mind to red lights, speed limits, bike or parking rules. —

Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, 11 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for panopticon