as in punitive
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment
Australia was once a penal colony
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Recent Examples of penal
Joshua Anderson, who worked at Northeast Correctional Complex in Mountain City until February 2024, was indicted in September on charges of bringing contraband into a penal facility, official misconduct and bribery of a public servant.
—
Evan Mealins, The Tennessean, 10 Aug. 2025
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
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
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
Evan Mealins, The Tennessean, 10 Aug. 2025
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
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
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
Adjective
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So over the past year and a bit, China had put very punitive tariffs on Canadian agricultural products and fish and seafood, shutting Canadians out from one of their primary markets, if not for some of them, their primary market.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
25 Jan. 2026
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But the pressure isn’t punitive.—
Shaw Walters,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The men were also charged, and convicted, of several felonies in Ada County related to the hospital escape and shooting of several correctional officers.—
Alex Brizee,
Idaho Statesman,
20 Jan. 2026
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Williams got his degree and would later become a correctional officer and eventually supervisor of security operations at Mount Sinai Medical Center.—
Raisa Habersham,
Miami Herald,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Penal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penal. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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