as in shelters
something (as a building) that offers cover from the weather or protection from danger
the embassy serves as an asylum for that country's nationals in need of help
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Recent Examples of asylums
For example, sociologist Erving Goffman showed that the way care is structured in asylums shaped how patients are treated.
—
Jennifer Singh, The Conversation, 8 Jan. 2026
Such a light as this should shine only on murders and public crime, or along the corridors of lunatic asylums.
—Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Many former asylums are now macabre tourist attractions, whose treatment of their subject matter can range from the sensitive to the sensationalist.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
But worst of all is the knowledge that all of these terrors were trademarks of the asylums that stowed away those with mental health conditions well into the 20th century.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Both were institutionalized and died in asylums, her under mysterious circumstances, him at the age of 26.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
Over the past decade a range of politicians and public figures have called to rebuild asylums in order to address the country’s mental health crisis.
—Jay Neugeboren, The New York Review of Books, 25 May 2025
Jennifer Singh, The Conversation, 8 Jan. 2026
Such a light as this should shine only on murders and public crime, or along the corridors of lunatic asylums.
—Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Many former asylums are now macabre tourist attractions, whose treatment of their subject matter can range from the sensitive to the sensationalist.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
But worst of all is the knowledge that all of these terrors were trademarks of the asylums that stowed away those with mental health conditions well into the 20th century.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Both were institutionalized and died in asylums, her under mysterious circumstances, him at the age of 26.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
Over the past decade a range of politicians and public figures have called to rebuild asylums in order to address the country’s mental health crisis.
—Jay Neugeboren, The New York Review of Books, 25 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asylums
Noun
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SaveABunny partners with other shelters and is often the last resort.—
Sharon Chin,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
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In their filing in Sacramento Superior Court, the residents accuse city officials of violating Measure O, which mandates that interim shelters sit more than 500 feet away from bodies of water or streams.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Why perpetuate this problem in city parks — our best refuges from the danger, noise and congestion of city streets?—
Jon Orcutt,
New York Daily News,
14 Mar. 2026
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Aire Ancient Baths A subterranean theater of candlelit pools and vaulted brick, Aire remains one of the city’s few strictly phone-and-camera-free refuges.—
Amy Louise Bailey,
Travel + Leisure,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The decision to inaugurate the first urban Six Senses property in Rome was partially driven by the owner’s love of all things Italian and is part of a new drive to bring sanctuaries to bigger cities.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
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That brightening would affect the entire planet, including remote locations that are now considered dark sky sanctuaries, where astronomers build their sky-observing machines.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Some Singaporean businesses run offshore manufacturing operations in Batam, while others send staff to the island for meetings or corporate retreats, Tan said.—
Sydney Goh,
CNBC,
4 Apr. 2026
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That total wasn’t built on epic reading binges or monastic retreats.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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When fear eases, the rush into safe havens tends to ease with it.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Vested with the responsibility of finding havens for some of the county’s most fragile, lonely people, often without relatives or those able to care for them, Hernandez has been accused of treating them like commodities.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Asylums.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asylums. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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