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penitentiary Definition

peni·ten·tiary (pen′i ten′s̸hə rē)

adjective

  1. of or for penance
  2. used in punishing, disciplining, and reforming
  3. making one liable to imprisonment in a penitentiary
  4. of or in a penitentiary

Etymology: ML penitentiarius, poenitentiarius (form and meaning infl. by assoc. with L poena: see penal) < L paenitentia < paenitens, penitent

noun pl. -·ries

  1. Etymology: ML penitentiaria < the adj.

    1. a prison
    2. ☆ a state or federal prison for persons convicted of serious crimes

  2. Etymology: ML(Ec) penitentiarius < the adj.

    an office or tribunal headed by a cardinal (Grand Penitentiary) and dealing with matters of penance, confession, dispensation, absolution, etc.

penitentiary Synonyms

penitentiary

modif.

punitive, disciplinary, refractory; see penal.

penitentiary Synonyms

penitentiary

n.

prison, reformatory, penal institution, pen*; see jail, prison.

penitentiary Law Definition

n

A penal institution that is intended for long-term confinement of convicted criminals. See also jail.

penitentiary Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • federal: I'm from a small town with five large federal penitentiaries.
  • mcalester: McAlester penitentiary is clearly no holiday camp, and Ron's developing mental illness and physical deterioration whilst on death row makes grim reading.
  • large: I'm from a small town with five large federal penitentiaries.
  • maximum: This survival horror game from Midway will see you assuming the role of a prisoner on death row in a haunted maximum security penitentiary.
  • national: The first national penitentiary was Millbank, built between 1815 and 1821.

Modifies a noun

system: This new consideration of space had a profound influence on areas as diverse as urban development and penitentiary systems.

Noun used with modifier

  • state: Edward Earl Johnson, a young African-American was put to death in the gas chamber of Mississippi's state penitentiary on 20 May 1987.
  • security: This survival horror game from Midway will see you assuming the role of a prisoner on death row in a haunted maximum security penitentiary.

Browse dictionary entries near penitentiary

  1. ‹ penitential
  2. ‹ penitent
  3. ‹ penitence
  4. ‹ penis envy
  5. ‹ penis
  6. ‹ Peninsular Malaysia
  7. ‹ peninsula
  8. ‹ penicillium
  9. ‹ penicillin
  10. ‹ penicillate
  1. penknife ›
  2. penlight ›
  3. penman ›
  4. penmanship ›
  5. Penn ›
  6. Penn,William ›
  7. penna ›
  8. pennant ›
  9. pennate ›
  10. penne ›