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
Still, in 1981, when François Mitterrand appointed him Minister of Justice, sixty-three per cent of the French public approved of capital punishment.
—
Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2026
Israel had long upheld a de facto moratorium on both executions and capital punishment sentencing, thereby leading by example in the region despite a complex security environment.
—Benjamin Weinthal , Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2026
Federal murder charge dropped Judge Garnett dismissed a federal murder charge in January that would have enabled prosecutors to seek capital punishment.
—Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
In the end, Ellroy decides that what Dieterling needs isn’t capital punishment or even prison, just medical care.
—Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for capital punishment
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Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2026
Israel had long upheld a de facto moratorium on both executions and capital punishment sentencing, thereby leading by example in the region despite a complex security environment.
—Benjamin Weinthal , Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2026
Federal murder charge dropped Judge Garnett dismissed a federal murder charge in January that would have enabled prosecutors to seek capital punishment.
—Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
In the end, Ellroy decides that what Dieterling needs isn’t capital punishment or even prison, just medical care.
—Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 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 2 Apr. 2026.
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