dun·geon

(dŭn′jən)

1. A dark, often underground chamber used to confine prisoners.

2. A donjon.

[Middle English donjon, castle keep, dungeon, from Old French, keep, probably from Medieval Latin domniō, domniōn-, the lord's tower, from Latin dominus, master; see dem- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

dungeon

(ˈdʌndʒən)

1. (Building) a close prison cell, often underground

2. (Fortifications) a variant of donjon

[C14: from Old French donjon; related to Latin dominus master]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dun•geon

(ˈdʌn dʒən)

n.

1. a strong, dark prison or cell, usu. underground, as in a medieval castle.

2. the keep or stronghold of a castle; donjon.

[1250–1300; Middle English dungeo(u)n < Middle French donjon < Vulgar Latin *domniōnem, acc. of *domniō keep, mastery]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	dungeon - the main tower within the walls of a medieval castle or fortress donjon, keep castle - a large building formerly occupied by a ruler and fortified against attack stronghold, fastness - a strongly fortified defensive structure
	2.	dungeon - a dark cell (usually underground) where prisoners can be confined jail cell, prison cell, cell - a room where a prisoner is kept oubliette - a dungeon with the only entrance or exit being a trap door in the ceiling

dungeon

noun prison, cell, cage, vault, lockup, oubliette, calaboose (U.S. informal), donjon the ceiling of the tiny dungeon

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

سَجْنٌ تـَحْتَ الَأرْضسِجْن تَحْت الأرْض

žalář

fangekælderfangehul

Kerker Verlies Burgverlies

μπουντρούμι

laberinto mazmorra

vankiluola

cachot donjon oubliette cul-de-basse-fosse

tamnica

föld alatti börtönkazamata

dÿflissa

prigione sotterranea

地下牢

지하 감옥

carcerrobur

kalėjimo rūsys

cietums

kerker

fangehull fangekjeller

loch

masmorra calabouço

донжон темница

žalár

ječa

fängelsehåla

คุกใต้ดินในปราสาท

zindan

ngục tối

地牢

dungeon

[ˈdʌndʒən] N → calabozo m, mazmorra f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

dungeon

[ˈdʌndʒ^ən] n → cachot m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

dungeon

n → Verlies nt, → Kerker m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

dungeon

[ˈdʌndʒ/ən] n → segreta, prigione f sotterranea

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

dungeon

(ˈdandʒən) noun

a dark underground prison.

dungeon

→ سَجْنٌ تـَحْتَ الَأرْض žalář fangekælder Kerker μπουντρούμι mazmorra vankiluola donjon tamnica prigione sotterranea 地下牢 지하 감옥 kerker fangehull loch masmorra темница fängelsehåla คุกใต้ดินในปราสาท zindan ngục tối 地牢

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The whole appearance of the dungeon might have appalled a stouter heart than that of Isaac, who, nevertheless, was more composed under the imminent pressure of danger, than he had seemed to be while affected by terrors, of which the cause was as yet remote and contingent.

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It has been used as a prison for political offenders for two or three hundred years, and its dungeon walls are scarred with the rudely carved names of many and many a captive who fretted his life away here and left no record of himself but these sad epitaphs wrought with his own hands.

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So six of the black men led the Doctor and all his pets away and shut them up in a stone dungeon. The dungeon had only one little window, high up in the wall, with bars in it; and the door was strong and thick.

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Had I been remanded to my dungeon, to await the next sacrifice, which would not take place for many months?

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Bonacieux could not close his eyes; not because his dungeon was so very disagreeable, but because his uneasiness was so great.

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Goodnight." And before Dantes could open his mouth -- before he had noticed where the jailer placed his bread or the water -- before he had glanced towards the corner where the straw was, the jailer disappeared, taking with him the lamp and closing the door, leaving stamped upon the prisoner's mind the dim reflection of the dripping walls of his dungeon.

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So the Delegation was cast into the deepest dungeon beneath the moat, where it maintained a divided mind for many weeks, but finally reconciled its differences and asked to be taken before the New President.

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We reached the city of Warhoon after some three days march and I was immediately cast into a dungeon and heavily chained to the floor and walls.

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Presently the day came, and a young woman whom Jane Porter had not seen before came with several others to her dungeon. Here some sort of ceremony was performed--that it was of a religious nature the girl was sure, and so she took new heart, and rejoiced that she had fallen among people upon whom the refining and softening influences of religion evidently had fallen.

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It lies between a tower and a dungeon. The tower is God, the dungeon is the dwelling of the Evil One.

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A hard sou'-wester startles you with its close horizon and its low gray sky, as if the world were a dungeon wherein there is no rest for body or soul.

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After many fruitless attempts to gain admittance to the prison, he found a strongly grated window in an unguarded part of the building, which lighted the dungeon of the unfortunate Muhammadan, who, loaded with chains, waited in despair the execution of the barbarous sentence.

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