penal colony
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Most have gone into exile abroad, while the most prominent figure, Alexei Navalny, died suddenly in a penal colony in the Arctic in February 2024.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
He was transferred to a less harsh penal colony in Russia's Udmurtia region in 2024.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
Despite the many Aboriginal communities, the British deemed the place terra nullius—no one’s land—and established a penal colony, bringing diseases that drastically reduced the indigenous population.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
Despite a lack of evidence, Dreyfus was convicted of treason, sentenced to life imprisonment in the infamous Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana and publicly stripped of his rank.
From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025
He was one generation removed from a slave ship, living in a country best described as an African penal colony, and he was a free man, with every benefit of education.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
