as in rulings
a decision made by a court or tribunal regarding a case it has heard
he received a light sentence because it was his first offense and he was an otherwise upstanding citizen
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in condemns
to impose a judicial punishment on
the judge sentenced him to a fine of $50 and time served
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sentences
Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
The sentences will be served in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
—Dante Motley, Austin American Statesman, 4 Mar. 2026
The feminine advantage, beginning with the first spoken word, increases with age, according to recent researches in the language development of preschool children, girls being first to employ phrases and using longer sentences.
—Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 27 Feb. 2026
The next year, police said six players pulled a string of armed robberies that got the teens prison sentences.
—Marvin Hurst, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Kwok's charge carried a maximum prison term of seven years, but his case was heard at the magistrates’ courts, which normally hand down sentences of no more than two years.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
Funston was sentenced in 1999 to three consecutive sentences of 25 years to life and one sentence of 20 years and eight months.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
In May 2025, five supporters were given prison sentences and fines for racist chants aimed at the 25-year-old during a match against Real Valladolid.
—Leon Imber, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2026
And therefore, the sentences are more realistic.
—Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 24 Feb. 2026
ABC News, 19 Feb. 2026
Her sentences themselves have a cartilaginous magic.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
Despite the wholesale change in how California sentences juvenile offenders, outrage over the crime has not faded.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
Given that, Ake sentences her to a rehabilitation camp and separates her from her young son, Caleb.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 16 Jan. 2026
Williams was able to petition for resentencing due to a law enacted in 2011 that allowed judges to give juvenile offenders with life without parole sentences a chance to be resentenced.
—CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
Noun
People who finance terrorism can be subject to lengthy prison sentences of as much as 30 years.
—Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
The sentences will be served in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
—Dante Motley, Austin American Statesman, 4 Mar. 2026
The feminine advantage, beginning with the first spoken word, increases with age, according to recent researches in the language development of preschool children, girls being first to employ phrases and using longer sentences.
—Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 27 Feb. 2026
The next year, police said six players pulled a string of armed robberies that got the teens prison sentences.
—Marvin Hurst, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Kwok's charge carried a maximum prison term of seven years, but his case was heard at the magistrates’ courts, which normally hand down sentences of no more than two years.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
Funston was sentenced in 1999 to three consecutive sentences of 25 years to life and one sentence of 20 years and eight months.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
In May 2025, five supporters were given prison sentences and fines for racist chants aimed at the 25-year-old during a match against Real Valladolid.
—Leon Imber, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2026
And therefore, the sentences are more realistic.
—Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 24 Feb. 2026
Verb
The Seoul Central District Court sentences Yoon to five years in prison for resisting arrest and fabricating the martial law proclamation, the first verdict against Yoon.
—ABC News, 19 Feb. 2026
Her sentences themselves have a cartilaginous magic.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
Despite the wholesale change in how California sentences juvenile offenders, outrage over the crime has not faded.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
Given that, Ake sentences her to a rehabilitation camp and separates her from her young son, Caleb.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 16 Jan. 2026
Williams was able to petition for resentencing due to a law enacted in 2011 that allowed judges to give juvenile offenders with life without parole sentences a chance to be resentenced.
—CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sentences
Noun
-
Courts are deliberative places, where there are briefing schedules and hundreds of pages of evidentiary documents and lengthy rulings citing hundreds of years of case law.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Judge Lamberth has a pattern of activist rulings — and this case is no different.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The content of this video was offensive and Burleson ISD strongly condemns it.—
Elizabeth Campbell,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Those idiots are the primary reason Trump is president, while Kamala Harris, who condemns the military success like most of her fellow Democratic politicos, can’t even get traction in peddling her sour-grapes-loser book.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Diplomats familiar with the agency’s findings say the uranium could have been moved before or during the fighting.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Mar. 2026
-
The findings shed light on an ongoing debate among researchers.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Yet instead of addressing the lawsuit, the mayor is now going a step further, threatening to raise taxes inside the same broken structure that punishes working‑class communities.—
Arthur Russell,
New York Daily News,
20 Feb. 2026
-
That staunch support takes on extra significance in a hyper-competitive country that often only rewards top winners and punishes those who fall short.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But New York’s Court of Appeals tossed the guilty verdicts in April 2024, finding that the trial court judge, James Burke, shouldn’t have permitted three women to testify about rape and abuse allegations that weren’t tied to the charges.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Jurors returned the guilty verdicts following a 22-day trial and three days of deliberations.—
Tim Fang,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This leads to the fracture in Catherine and Heathcliff's relationship that dooms them all to ruin.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Without that sense of desperate loneliness, what dooms Frankenstein and the Creature to their deaths?—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
14 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sentences.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sentences. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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