Synonyms for prison
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
1. Jail — A place or institution where people are held against their will, in the US especially for long-term…
jail, penitentiary US, house of correction US, big house slang, bridewell dated IE
Other
imprisonment, gaol UK, dungeon, compound, toll booth, jug, clink slang dated, queer ken dated UK, calaboose rare US AU
Definitions
- n. 1
A place or institution where people are held against their will, in the US especially for long-term confinement, as of those convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered undesirable by the government.
The cold stone walls of the prison had stood for over a century.
Related words
Forms
- Plural
- prisons → jails, penitentiaries, bridewells, imprisonments…
Example sentences
- jail It's been 10 days since my boyfriend went to jail.
- compound In German, compound words are written as one word!
- imprisonment The judge sentenced him to one year's imprisonment.
- dungeon The random encounter rate in this dungeon is high.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| prison | rising | |
| jail | rising | |
| compound | falling | |
| imprisonment | falling | |
| dungeon | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- jug1
- 4 letters
- jail1, gaol
- 5 letters
- clink1
- 7 letters
- dungeon2
- 8 letters
- compound2
- 9 letters
- bridewell, calaboose
- 12 letters
- imprisonment4, penitentiary5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (dungeon2 = 2 syllables).