prison

Pronunciation: /ˈpɹɪzn̩/

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
  2. noun a prisonlike situation; a place of seeming confinement

Etymology

From Middle English prisoun, prison, from Old English prisūn, a borrowing from Old French prison, from Latin prehensiōnem, accusative singular of prehensiō, from the verb prehendō. Doublet of prehension.

In classic literature

Synonyms

prison house

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
correctional institution
Narrower (hyponyms)
state prison, nick, panopticon, bastille, chokey

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