as in punitive
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment
Australia was once a penal colony
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Recent Examples of penal
To bring in more workers, the colony’s leaders then requested a conversion to penal status, like others that had been established on the continent since the 1780s.
—
Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 7 Aug. 2025
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
The assignment to a penal detachment is arguably a death sentence, however, as Russia's military has routinely used ex-convict forces to conduct near-suicidal missions in the war against Ukraine, leading to high casualty rates.
—Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penal
Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 7 Aug. 2025
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
The assignment to a penal detachment is arguably a death sentence, however, as Russia's military has routinely used ex-convict forces to conduct near-suicidal missions in the war against Ukraine, leading to high casualty rates.
—Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penal
Adjective
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In August, a jury in Florida found the automaker partly liable for a deadly 2019 crash involving its Autopilot system, ordering the company to pay $243 million in punitive and compensatory damages.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
6 Oct. 2025
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Unlike the punitive approach used in that case, the USC proposal offers new funding and preferential treatment for universities that comply.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Ana Maria Vargas, 52, a correctional officer in Arizona, applied to be a deportation officer.—
Ximena Bustillo,
NPR,
26 Sep. 2025
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Prosecutors say the attackers sprayed anti-ICE graffiti, shot a police officer in the neck and exchanged fire with correctional officers before fleeing.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penal. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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