capital punishment
noun
: punishment by death : the practice of killing people as punishment for serious crimes
called also death penalty
Examples of capital punishment in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ivey said executing Burton while the triggerman avoided capital punishment would be fundamentally unjust, marking only her second clemency grant since taking office.
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Kim Chandler, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Talarico has said God is non-binary, does not support capital punishment in a state that leads the nation in executions, and rejects religious freedom exemptions to avoid vaccinations.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 26 Feb. 2026
South Korea has not executed a death-row inmate since 1997, in what is widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment and popular calls for its abolition.
—ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
South Korea has not executed a death row inmate since 1997, in what is widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment amid calls for its abolition.
—CBS News, 19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for capital punishment
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Kim Chandler, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Talarico has said God is non-binary, does not support capital punishment in a state that leads the nation in executions, and rejects religious freedom exemptions to avoid vaccinations.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 26 Feb. 2026
South Korea has not executed a death-row inmate since 1997, in what is widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment and popular calls for its abolition.
—ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
South Korea has not executed a death row inmate since 1997, in what is widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment amid calls for its abolition.
—CBS News, 19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for capital punishment
Cite this Entry
“Capital punishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capital%20punishment. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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