as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
were amazed by the squalid, cramped quarters in the town's historic bastille
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bastille
For his part, Bowie celebrated the election by joining forces with John Barleycorn and evicting the residents of the local bastille.
—
Robert Kolarik, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Feb. 2018
In these wet, wooden bastilles in New York waters, more Americans died than in all the battles of the Revolutionary War combined.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Smithsonian, 13 Mar. 2017
Robert Kolarik, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Feb. 2018
In these wet, wooden bastilles in New York waters, more Americans died than in all the battles of the Revolutionary War combined.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Smithsonian, 13 Mar. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastille
Noun
-
He will be transferred to the county jail once he is released from the hospital.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Jackson was not listed on the Pulaski County jail's roster Sunday night.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
2 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Oscar Wilde was not the only Irishman locked up in an English prison to draw Proust’s attention.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Nguyen pleaded guilty last year to a felony charge and multiple misdemeanors and is now serving a seven-year prison sentence, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, an 8-year-old in West Baltimore at the time of the murder, offers piercing commentary on the impact of both the initial crime and the succeeding one, the grievously unjust trial that put three kids in the penitentiary.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Central Time Wednesday following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bastille.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastille. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
