adjective
Street Slang
institutionalized
IN-sti-TOO-shun-uh-lyzd · adjective · slang
So adapted to prison that free life feels unmanageable.
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Definitions
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Describing a long-term inmate who has become so accustomed to the routine and structure of prison that they struggle to function outside it.
“After thirty years he was fully institutionalized and feared release.”
by community
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institutionalized In A Sentence
After thirty years he was fully institutionalized and feared release.
Origin & Usage
Clinical term absorbed into inmate speech.
Variants
institutionalised
People Also Ask
What does institutionalized mean in prison?
It describes a long-term inmate who has grown so used to the routine and structure of prison that they struggle to function on the outside.
How is institutionalized used?
It's applied to someone deeply shaped by incarceration, as in 'after thirty years he was fully institutionalized and feared release.'
Where does the term institutionalized come from?
It's a clinical term for adaptation to institutional life that has been absorbed into everyday inmate speech.
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