sentence

¹sen·tence

noun \ˈsen-t^ən(t)s, -t^ənz\

Definition of SENTENCE

1

obsolete : opinion; especially : a conclusion given on request or reached after deliberation

2

a : judgment 2a; specifically : one formally pronounced by a court or judge in a criminal proceeding and specifying the punishment to be inflicted upon the convict b : the punishment so imposed <serve out a sentence>

3

archaic : maxim, saw

4

a : a word, clause, or phrase or a group of clauses or phrases forming a syntactic unit which expresses an assertion, a question, a command, a wish, an exclamation, or the performance of an action, that in writing usually begins with a capital letter and concludes with appropriate end punctuation, and that in speaking is distinguished by characteristic patterns of stress, pitch, and pauses b : a mathematical or logical statement (as an equation or a proposition) in words or symbols

5

: period 2b

Examples of SENTENCE

1. He is serving a 10-year sentence for armed robbery.
2. <the court-martial pronounced a sentence of not guilty on all counts of cowardice>

Origin of SENTENCE

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin sententia feeling, opinion, from *sentent-, *sentens, irregular present participle of sentire to feel — more at sense

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to SENTENCE

Synonyms: doom, finding, holding, judgment (or judgement), ruling

Related Words: inquest, verdict; authority; decree, edict, injunction, order; arbitrament, award, declaration, deliverance, dictum, pronouncement; conclusion, decision, determination, opinion, resolution; discipline, penalty, punishment

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