penal

adjective pe·nal \ ˈpē-nᵊl \

|Updated on: 20 Jun 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

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
Down Under gets its very own chapter on its liquor-addled origins as a penal colony, when rum was currency and even inspired a military coup, the Rum Rebellion.

— New York Times, "Sloshed, Hammered, Blotto — We’ve Been Doing It for Ages," 30 May 2018
The article noted that Congress envisioned the site as a model penal system that would train prisoners for employment upon their release.

— alison lake, Washington Post, "Resident Curator program offers a historic Virginia home for lease. Repairs needed.," 27 May 2018
Thus began an era of unprecedented penal cruelty on Indian soil.

— neelima vallangi, Smithsonian, "India’s Abandoned Island of Colonial Horror," 8 May 2018
Despite the vocal support of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina are sent to remote Russian penal colonies far away from their young children to serve their sentences.

— aidin vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, "Timeline: Pussy Riot’s chaotic journey from protest to politics," 27 Mar. 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.

Law Dictionary

penal

adjective pe·nal \ ˈpēn-ᵊl \

legal Definition of penal

1 : of, relating to, or being punishment

penal sanctions

2 : making one (as an offender) punishable

a penal offense

; also : criminal 2

3 : used as a place of confinement and punishment

a penal institution

Learn More about penal

See words that rhyme with penal Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for penal Spanish Central: Translation of penal Nglish: Translation of penal for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of penal for Arabic speakers

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PENAL Defined for English Language Learners

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