as in prison
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
a sentence in the state penitentiary for robbery
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Recent Examples of penitentiary
In 1933 the Department of Justice turned it into a federal penitentiary for prisoners considered especially violent or unmanageable.
—
Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Mar. 2026
Behind bars in state penitentiaries in Gatesville and Marlin, Mejia felt forgotten.
—Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026
Early last year, prison officials transferred Hernández out of the federal detention center in Brooklyn, which largely holds pretrial detainees, and sent him to the high-security Hazelton penitentiary in West Virginia.
—Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 18 Feb. 2026
He was arrested again in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1961 and spent four months in a penitentiary where fellow Freedom Riders cried out in song each night.
—Veronica Ortega, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Mar. 2026
Behind bars in state penitentiaries in Gatesville and Marlin, Mejia felt forgotten.
—Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026
Early last year, prison officials transferred Hernández out of the federal detention center in Brooklyn, which largely holds pretrial detainees, and sent him to the high-security Hazelton penitentiary in West Virginia.
—Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 18 Feb. 2026
He was arrested again in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1961 and spent four months in a penitentiary where fellow Freedom Riders cried out in song each night.
—Veronica Ortega, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penitentiary
Noun
-
Four others indicted in the case were given sentences of as much as six years in prison, with one woman getting a 10-month sentence, suspended for three years.—
Debby Wu,
Bloomberg,
27 Apr. 2026
-
As part of Lololee’s deal, federal prosecutors agreed to recommend a prison term at the low end of the sentencing range, according to the court filing.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
He had been booked into the jail in late November on a probation violation warrant.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
-
She was booked into the county jail and released on $1,000 bond.—
Sean Joseph OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Penitentiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penitentiary. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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