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View synonyms for

prison

[priz-uhn]

noun

  1. a building for the confinement of persons held while awaiting trial, persons sentenced after conviction, etc.

  2. state prison.

  3. any place of confinement or involuntary restraint.

  4. imprisonment.



prison

/ ˈɪə /

noun

  1. a public building used to house convicted criminals and accused persons remanded in custody and awaiting trial See also jail penitentiary reformatory

  2. any place of confinement or seeming confinement

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • prisonlike adjective
  • postprison adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of prison1

before 1150; Middle English prison, earlier prisun < Old French, variant of preson imprisonment, a prison < Latin pre ( ŧ ) Բō- (stem of preŧnsiō ) a seizure, arrest, equivalent to preŧns ( us ) (past participle of prehendere to seize) + -ō- -ion; doublet of prehension
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Word History and Origins

Origin of prison1

C12: from Old French prisun, from Latin ŧԲō a capturing, from prehendere to lay hold of
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

She said: "Housing people, including survivors of torture and trafficking, in an isolated, overcrowded camp reminiscent of an open-air prison, with inadequate healthcare and legal services, is an inhumane way to treat those seeking protection."

From

Lundes was about 7 when his dad was sent to prison, and his mom was left to raise him and his siblings in a cold garage in South Los Angeles.

From

Yuriy Belousov, the head of the war crimes department of Ukraine's Office of the Prosecutor General, told the BBC that Russian soldiers convicted of war crimes would go to prison in Ukraine and stay there.

From

They talk about a prisons "crisis", a housing "crisis", the "broken" NHS, as well as the climate "crisis".

From

He added that the defendants could spend between six and nine years in state prison, if found guilty on all counts.

From

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prismoidprison camp