penitenciária
Portuguese, noun/pe.ni.tẽ.siˈa.ɾjɐ/
penitenciária is a Portuguese feminine noun meaning “penitentiary, prison (place of long-term confinement for those convicted of serious crimes)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a feminine singular of penitenciário. The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “prisão pública onde os criminosos cumprem suas penas”.
What does penitenciária mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininepenitentiary, prison (place of long-term confinement for those convicted of serious crimes)
adjective
- 1
femininefeminine singular of penitenciário
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. prisão pública onde os criminosos cumprem suas penas
noun: 1. dignidade do penitenciário 2. tribunal da Cúria romana
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of penitenciária
- penitenciárias plural
- penitenciaria alternative
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce penitenciária?
- Brazil /pe.ni.tẽ.siˈa.ɾjɐ/
- Brazil /pe.ni.tẽˈsja.ɾjɐ/
- Portugal /pɨ.ni.tẽˈsja.ɾjɐ/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to penitenciária
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is penitenciária in Portuguese?
penitenciária appears 5.2 times per million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).