penal

adjective pe·nal \ ˈpē-nᵊl \

|Updated on: 15 Aug 2018

Examples: penal in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of penal

1 : of, relating to, or involving punishment, penalties, or punitive institutions

2 : liable to punishment

a penal offense

3 : used as a place of confinement and punishment

a penal colony

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penally

play \ˈpē-nᵊl-ē\ adverb

See penal defined for English-language learners

See penal defined for kids

Examples of penal in a Sentence

Australia was once a penal colony.

Recent Examples of penal from the Web

When the World Cup started in Russia on Thursday, Oleg Sentsov was on day 32 of his hunger strike in a northern Siberian penal colony.

— sabra ayres, latimes.com, "Ukrainian film director on hunger strike in a Russian prison casts dark cloud over World Cup," 19 June 2018
Is the answer to quarantine him in a penal colony …?

— vahe gregorian, kansascity, "The Royals are considering trying to sign Luke Heimlich. Here's why they shouldn't," 25 June 2018
Williams returns to his old community, which is shadowed by a fortress-like jail on a hill, to learn about how the penal system oppresses African-Americans and the poor.

— peter keough, BostonGlobe.com, "Doc Talk: Prison reform, computer games, gay marriage, silent Super 8," 21 June 2018
Sydney was one of two penal colonies the British established in Australia (the other was in Hobart, way south in Tasmania).

— mark ellwood, Condé Nast Traveler, "How Sydney Became an LGBTQ Destination," 13 June 2018
The administration’s adoption of a zero-tolerance policy on border crossing, which includes separating children from parents, is bursting the seams of the American penal system.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "The Trump administration is running out of places to put immigrant detainees.," 13 June 2018
One Uber driver will not be getting a smaller portion of anything, except possibly meals in Georgia’s penal system: Kevin Jerome was pulled over outside of Atlanta while ferrying two Uberites to their destination and arrested.

— ed wallace\, star-telegram, "Technology’s Blown Engine," 8 June 2018
Allied forces recaptured the islands in 1945 and soon after, the entire penal colony was permanently disbanded.

— neelima vallangi, Smithsonian, "India’s Abandoned Island of Colonial Horror," 8 May 2018
There will also be a parallel judicial probe and several victims are preparing a collective penal complaint.

— Washington Post, "Vatican sex crimes investigator meets Chile Marist victims," 27 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'penal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

A state or country's penal code defines its crimes and describes its punishments. During the 18th and 19th centuries, many countries established penal colonies, where criminals were sent as punishment. Often these were unbearably severe; but it was to such colonies that some of Australia's and the United States' early white inhabitants came, and the convicts provided labor for the European settlement of these lands.

Origin and Etymology of penal

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin poenalis, from poena punishment — more at pain

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

penal Synonyms

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

PENAL Defined for English Language Learners

penal

adjective

Definition of penal for English Language Learners

: relating to or used for punishment
: very severe

PENAL Defined for Kids

penal

adjective pe·nal \ ˈpē-nᵊl \

Definition of penal for Students

: relating to or used for punishment

Word Root of penal

The Latin word poena, meaning “punishment,” gives us the root pen or pun. Words from the Latin poena have something to do with punishments. A penalty is a punishment for doing something wrong. Anything penal, such as a group of laws, explains punishments for specific crimes. Punish and punishment also come from poena.