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Glite Dictionary
panopticon

panopticon

1 9.9
A circular building or system where one person can watch everyone from the middle
  • noun
  • /pæˈnɒptɪkən/
  • Formal
: panóptico
  • In the Hunger Games trilogy, the characters are in a panopticon, aware that they are being observed but never knowing when.

And, and So what they're trying to get is this digital panopticon where you're always being watched.

Examples

  • Welcome to the Panopticon, a prison designed by philosopher Jeremy Bentham in the 1800s.

    America: Imagine the World Without Her (2014)

  • A prison was designed: the Panopticon.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • And one of the things you should study is the panopticon, which is a prison.

  • Here, there's no privacy, What Bentham envisioned for a prison has now become the hi-tech Panopticon.

    America: Imagine the World Without Her (2014)

  • The concept of the panopticon allows guards to observe all inmates without them knowing when they are being watched.

  • The panopticon architecture created a sense of constant surveillance for the prisoners inside.

  • Jeremy Bentham's idea for a panopticon prison was to maximize security while minimizing the need for guards.

Synonyms

observation tower
vspanopticon
2 4.2

A tall building that lets you see far across the land or sea for sightseeing

focuses on internal circular layout allowing central observation of everything

Surface Forms

panopticon singular
panopticons plural

Morphology

panopticon = panoptic (semi-transparent) = pan + optic + on

Formed from 'pan-' + 'optic' with the noun-forming suffix '-on'; the literal 'all-seeing' relation holds but the term is specialized and its morphemes are low-frequency for many learners.

Etymology

The word panopticon comes from the Greek parts pan- ('all') and -optic (as in optical) meaning 'see' or 'seeing'. So a panopticon is a design where one central point can 'see' everyone, which is why it describes a circular prison or a system that watches all people.