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
And while it was designed around strict rules, the penitentiary's reputation was more nuanced.
—
Bill Chappell, NPR, 5 May 2025
Moises Sandoval Mendoza, 41, was pronounced dead at the Huntsville state penitentiary after being convicted of the March 2004 death of 20-year-old mother Rachelle O’Neil Tolleson.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2025
At the time of the crime, Hoffman was 18 and has since spent much of his adult life at the penitentiary in rural southeast Louisiana, where he was executed Tuesday evening.
—arkansasonline.com, 19 Mar. 2025
Stroud was one of several notorious men who have called the Leavenworth penitentiary home.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Bill Chappell, NPR, 5 May 2025
Moises Sandoval Mendoza, 41, was pronounced dead at the Huntsville state penitentiary after being convicted of the March 2004 death of 20-year-old mother Rachelle O’Neil Tolleson.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2025
At the time of the crime, Hoffman was 18 and has since spent much of his adult life at the penitentiary in rural southeast Louisiana, where he was executed Tuesday evening.
—arkansasonline.com, 19 Mar. 2025
Stroud was one of several notorious men who have called the Leavenworth penitentiary home.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for penitentiary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penitentiary
Noun
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But Hoover will remain in prison, serving a 200-year sentence for his state court conviction for murder.—
Claire Malon,
Chicago Tribune,
31 May 2025
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After a guilty plea, Brown faces up to 20 years in prison.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
Noun
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In that case, a man incarcerated in a local jail filed a complaint with CLERB alleging that deputies damaged his personal property and mishandled legal documents during a cell search.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2025
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In a previous life, the tournament would have been the high point of his professional career, but languishing in a Qatari jail, Ibhais could not bear witnessing the four-week football extravaganza playing out in the Gulf nation.—
Samindra Kunti,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penitentiary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penitentiary. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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