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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of penitentiary

He was freed on parole from the Terre Haute, Indiana, federal penitentiary on Nov. 30, 1948, after serving 32 months of his five-year prison sentence. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2025

The complaints at Lee mirror accounts from what was then a federal penitentiary, USP Thomson in Illinois, especially the overuse of four-point restraints. —Christie Thompson, NPR, 18 Dec. 2024

Lamberth also noted that there are only about 16 transgender women housed in female penitentiaries, including the three plaintiffs who sued. —Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025

In 2015, Ulbricht was handed a life sentence for his involvement in the enterprise and is currently incarcerated at a high-security penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona. —Kristen Waggoner, Newsweek, 21 Jan. 2025