penitentiary

noun/ˌpɛnɪˈtɛnʃəri/

Frequency rank: #10,871 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

A large prison for people convicted of serious crimes.

Illustration for the English word “penitentiary”

Example sentence

After the verdict was read, the judge sentenced him to ten years in the state penitentiary.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 10,801–10,900