as in punitive
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment
Australia was once a penal colony
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Recent Examples of penal
Missing fairway’s off the tee is more penal at Bay Hill.
—
Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Even in the most incarcerated country in the world, the penal system is, for many people, experienced through mass media representations, whether fictional or documentary.
—Sarah C. Schaefer, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
The corpus of crime-and-punishment imagery that emerged during this era tended to feature sensational events and high-profile lawbreakers rather than emphasizing the uniform anonymity that would increasingly characterize the new penal system and the majority of inmates.
—Sarah C. Schaefer, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
Foucault articulated the judicial and penal shifts from public punishment to private regulation, drawing particular attention to Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon, an architectural concretization of the unseen but ever-present authority of the state.
—Sarah C. Schaefer, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penal
Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Even in the most incarcerated country in the world, the penal system is, for many people, experienced through mass media representations, whether fictional or documentary.
—Sarah C. Schaefer, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
The corpus of crime-and-punishment imagery that emerged during this era tended to feature sensational events and high-profile lawbreakers rather than emphasizing the uniform anonymity that would increasingly characterize the new penal system and the majority of inmates.
—Sarah C. Schaefer, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
Foucault articulated the judicial and penal shifts from public punishment to private regulation, drawing particular attention to Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon, an architectural concretization of the unseen but ever-present authority of the state.
—Sarah C. Schaefer, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penal
punitive
Adjective
-
That's down from the 145% punitive level Trump had imposed until a handshake agreement in Geneva last month led to a mutual stand-down that also saw China reduce its duties on U.S. imports down to 10% from 125%.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
5 June 2025
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The White House claims the actions are required to protect national security, but Beijing views them as punitive.—
Kevin Breuninger,
CNBC,
5 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penal. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
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