Synonyms of the word

penitentiary

• n. (US) A state or federal prison for convicted felons.
• n. A priest in the Roman Catholic Church who administers the sacrament of penance.
• n. (obsolete) One who prescribes the rules and measures of penance.
• n. (obsolete) One who does penance.
• n. (obsolete) A small building in a monastery, or a part of a church, where penitents confessed.
• n. (obsolete) An office of the papal court which examines cases of conscience, confession, absolution from…
• n. (obsolete) An officer in some dioceses since 1215, vested with power from the bishop to absolve in cases…
• adj. Of or relating to penance; penitential.
• adj. Of or relating to the punishment of criminals.

pen

• n. An enclosed area used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle.
• n. A place to confine a person; a prison cell, though likelier an abbreviation of penitentiary.
• n. (baseball) The bullpen.
• v. (transitive) To enclose in a pen.
• n. A tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument, containing ink used…
• n. (figuratively) A writer, or his style.
• n. (colloquial) Marks of ink left by a pen.
• n. A light pen.
• n. (zoology) The internal cartilage skeleton of a squid, shaped like a pen.
• n. (now rare, poetic, dialectal) A feather, especially one of the flight feathers of a bird, angel etc.
• n. (poetic) A wing.
• v. (transitive) To write (an article, a book, etc.).
• n. A female swan.
• n. penalty.

punitive

• adj. (law, military) inflicting punishment, punishing.

punitory

• adj. punitive; tending to punish.