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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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.
Examples of penal in a Sentence
Australia was once a penal colony.
Recent Examples on the Web
Iran’s Islamic Republic government likely will block it because, aside from Panahi’s outspoken stance against its stranglehold on democracy that has landed him in prison twice, the film is highly critical of Iran’s penal system on the back of the director’s own firsthand experiences.
—
Pete Hammond, Deadline, 25 June 2025
In the report on El Salvador, whose penal system has become a dumping ground for migrants deported from the United States, there will be no details on the conditions in those prisons.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 1 May 2025
Convicted in London for conducting clandestine marriages, Grierson was sentenced to 14 years of penal servitude in the American Colonies.
—Alexandra Cox, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Mar. 2025
Now they are imprisoned in El Salvador, according to their families, who have been left in the dark about their fates in a penal system widely condemned for human rights abuses.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2025
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Pete Hammond, Deadline, 25 June 2025
In the report on El Salvador, whose penal system has become a dumping ground for migrants deported from the United States, there will be no details on the conditions in those prisons.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 1 May 2025
Convicted in London for conducting clandestine marriages, Grierson was sentenced to 14 years of penal servitude in the American Colonies.
—Alexandra Cox, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Mar. 2025
Now they are imprisoned in El Salvador, according to their families, who have been left in the dark about their fates in a penal system widely condemned for human rights abuses.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penal
Cite this Entry
“Penal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penal. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
penal
adjective
pe·nal
ˈpēn-ᵊl 
: of or relating to punishment
penal laws
a penal colony
Legal Definition
penal
adjective
pe·nal
ˈpēn-ᵊl
1
: of, relating to, or being punishment
penal sanctions
2
: making one (as an offender) punishable
a penal offense
also
: criminal sense 2
3
: used as a place of confinement and punishment
a penal institution
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