1
as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
the ongoing debate whether drug users should go to prison
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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
Barahona said he was handcuffed and sent to prison, with no access to lawyers, no contact with family and no clear sense of the charges against him.
—
Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2025
Eighteen people who were members of several different gangs operating across the tri-county South Florida region have been sentenced to federal prison for drug- and gun-related charges, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 17 May 2025
After 24 years in prison, Anderson was released on parole in 2023.
—Erin Moriarty, Liza Finley, CBS News, 4 May 2025
He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.
—Nicole Acosta, People.com, 3 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for prison
Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2025
Eighteen people who were members of several different gangs operating across the tri-county South Florida region have been sentenced to federal prison for drug- and gun-related charges, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 17 May 2025
After 24 years in prison, Anderson was released on parole in 2023.
—Erin Moriarty, Liza Finley, CBS News, 4 May 2025
He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.
—Nicole Acosta, People.com, 3 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for prison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prison
Noun
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Seven inmates are still at large on May 19 after escaping from a New Orleans jail through a hole behind a toilet.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
20 May 2025
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Jones is currently behind bars at Broward Main Jail, according to jail records, where he is being held on $150,000 bond.—
Christina Coulter,
People.com,
19 May 2025
Noun
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Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander arrives in Israel after being released from Gaza, where he was held in Hamas captivity for 19 months, May 12, 2025, Israel, Reim.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
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Since her escape, Colleen has attempted to live a normal life, though the impact of her captivity still remains with her.—
Makena Gera,
People.com,
20 May 2025
Noun
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The gallows, where 15 penitentiary inmates were executed by hanging, were no longer there.—
Tammy Ljungblad,
Kansas City Star,
17 May 2025
-
Instead, Trump took a number of potshots at his sometime opponent during a Tuesday press conference, less than 48 hours after ordering the Bureau of Prisons to reopen Alcatraz as a federal penitentiary.—
Nicole Nixon,
Sacbee.com,
7 May 2025
Noun
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In 1917, Woodrow Wilson used the act to curtail the activities and speech of German citizens, leading to the internment of more than 6000 Germans, though they were provided with a hearing.—
Richard Stengel,
Time,
23 May 2025
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The Trump administration justified the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a piece of legislation from 1798 that previously was used as defense for Japanese internment camps during World War II.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Poverty is a pretext for surveillance, over-policing and incarceration.—
Rod Adams,
Essence,
25 May 2025
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Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Warren said Friday that the maximum sentence for wire fraud is 20 years of incarceration, a $250,000 fine and three years on supervised release.—
Ryan Oehrli,
Charlotte Observer,
23 May 2025
Noun
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At least nine of the 25 arrested have landed in immigration detention — scattered across the country from a crowded lockup in Miami to a facility in a sleepy Texas railway town to a confinement in a Pacific Northwest port city overlooked by Mount Rainier.—
Hannah Critchfield,
Sun Sentinel,
29 May 2025
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He was subsequently ordered to home confinement in April 2025.—
Caroline Blair,
People.com,
29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prison. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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