corporal punishment

noun

: punishment that involves hitting someone : physical punishment
The school banned corporal punishment many years ago.

Examples of corporal punishment in a Sentence

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The regulations’ unanimous passage in 2022 followed a New York Times investigation detailing widespread educational failures — including young boys who graduated unable to speak English fluently or do basic arithmetic — and allegations of corporal punishment in some of the schools. Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 18 June 2025 Things took a dark turn next, however, with Hawk getting arrested in Southern California in late summer 2020 on domestic violence allegations of inflicting corporal punishment on a spouse or cohabitant in Santa Ana. Christie D’zurilla, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2025 Thailand bans the corporal punishment of children The Southeast Asian nation became the 68th country to prohibit the use of physical or psychological violence in any setting. Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 27 May 2025 But former students who attended during the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s, when most of the abuse is alleged to have taken place, say some corporal punishment was socially acceptable in French schools at the time. Colette Davidson, Christian Science Monitor, 13 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for corporal punishment

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“Corporal punishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corporal%20punishment. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

Legal Definition

corporal punishment

noun
cor·​po·​ral punishment
ˈkȯr-pə-rəl-
: punishment inflicted on a person's body see also cruel and unusual punishment

Note: The prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment in the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution imposes limits on the use of corporal punishment on convicted offenders and prisoners. The U.S. Supreme Court has found the Eighth Amendment to be inapplicable to the use of corporal punishment on schoolchildren.

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