panopticon

noun

pan·​op·​ti·​con pə-ˈnäp-ti-ˌkän 

pa-

plural panopticons

1

: an optical instrument combining the telescope and microscope

2

: a circular prison built with cells arranged radially so that a guard at a central position can see all the prisoners

Examples of panopticon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Even as Andreeva was winning in Dubai, there were reminders of the troubling aspects of being a young woman, or, frankly, any person, in the panopticon of pro sports. —Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025

Selling infrastructure to the panopticon was not a safe play, and investors were skittish. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025

And in some ways the panopticon of internet gossiping at such a scale shows all the goods and evils that gossiping has to offer. —Kelsey McKinney, Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2025

Holland is transforming three of its iconic 19th-century panopticon former prisons into arts and cultural centers, reports The Guardian. —The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1742, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for panopticon

• agamemnon
• automaton
• diencephalon
• phenomenon
• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon
• chitosan