Synonyms of penitentiary

penitentiary

noun

ˌpe-nə-ˈten(t)-sh(ə-)rē 

as in prison

a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody

a sentence in the state penitentiary for robbery

Synonyms & Similar Words

• prison
• jail
• brig
• stockade
• jailhouse
• bridewell
• calaboose
• lockup
• pen
• coop
• slammer
• guardroom
• bastille
• hoosegow
• cage
• cooler
• big house
• hock
• pokey
• tolbooth
• jug
• dungeon
• clink
• cell
• joint
• tank
• quod
• can
• stir
• slam
• nick
• ward
• guardhouse
• bull pen
• gulag
• hold
• reformatory
• hole
• prison camp
• labor camp
• stalag
• concentration camp
• glasshouse
• block
• work camp
• oubliette
• reform school
• keep
• hulk(s)
• training school

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• outside

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of penitentiary

The state penitentiary in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota recently expanded its transitional care unit to meet the needs of its aging population. —Tom Chiodo, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Hollinger’s affairs proved to be a total mess: Black was later convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice and spent more than three years in a federal penitentiary. —Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024

From a federal penitentiary in Virginia, Jose Landa-Rodriguez reconnected with an old friend in California. —Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2024

But there’s a war out there in Tulsa, whose lucrative drug trade is not being overseen by the usual cartel, but by a native tribe chief (Graham Greene) who runs the Indian Brotherhood from a state penitentiary. —Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2024