Definition of Dungeon

1. Noun. The main tower within the walls of a medieval castle or fortress.

Exact synonyms: Donjon, Keep
Specialized synonyms: Black Hole Of Calcutta
Group relationships: Castle
Generic synonyms: Fastness, Stronghold

2. Noun. A dark cell (usually underground) where prisoners can be confined.
Generic synonyms: Cell, Jail Cell, Prison Cell
Specialized synonyms: Oubliette

Definition of Dungeon

1. n. A close, dark prison, common&?;, under ground, as if the lower apartments of the donjon or keep of a castle, these being used as prisons.

2. v. t. To shut up in a dungeon.

Definition of Dungeon

1. Noun. An underground prison or vault, typically built underneath a castle. ¹

2. Noun. (obsolete) The main tower of a motte or castle; a keep or donjon. ¹

3. Noun. (games) An underground area inhabited by enemies, containing story objectives, treasure and bosses. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Dungeon

1. to confine in a dungeon (an underground prison) [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Medical Definition of Dungeon

1. A close, dark prison, common, under ground, as if the lower apartments of the donjon or keep of a castle, these being used as prisons. "Down with him even into the deep dungeon." (Tyndale) "Year after year he lay patiently in a dungeon." (Macaulay) Origin: OE. Donjoun highest tower of a castle, tower, prison, F. Donjon tower or platform in the midst of a castle, turret, or closet on the top of a house, a keep of a castle, LL. Domnio, the same word as LL. Dominus lord. See Dame, Don, and cf. Dominion, Domain, Demesne, Danger, Donjon. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Dungeon

dunelm
dunes
dunesand
dunesands
dunfish
dung beetle
dung beetles
dung heap
dungaree
dungareed
dungarees
dungball
dunged
dungeon (current term)
dungeon crawl
dungeon crawler
dungeon crawlers
dungeon master
dungeon masters
dungeoned
dungeoneer
dungeoneers
dungeonesque
dungeoning
dungeonlike
dungeonous
dungeons
dungfork

Literary usage of Dungeon

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The New England Magazine by Making of America Project (1884)
"What stout heart does not stand dismayed before a real dungeon? ... In visiting dungeon Rock, however, like most places of a similar character, ..."

2. Paris: Including a Description of the Principal Edifices and Curiosities of by Louis-Sébastien Mercier (1817)
"THE dungeon OF VINCENNES. I HAVE shaped my course over the drawbridge of this once formidable dungeon, which no longer exists as a state prison; ..."

3. The Life of Benvenuto Cellini by Benvenuto Cellini, John Addington Symonds (1889)
"Then they lifted me from where I lay, and after shaking up the mattress, which was now as soppy as a dish of maccaroni, they flung it outside the dungeon. ..."

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