as in punitive
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment
Australia was once a penal colony
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Recent Examples of penal
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
On July 8, 1936, Cowell arrived at San Quentin, the largest prison in a state penal system that ranked high among the country’s worst.
—Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 15 Jan. 2025
These aural assassins should be rounded up and shipped to a penal island off the coast of Antarctica.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 9 Jan. 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
Sarah C. Schaefer, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
On July 8, 1936, Cowell arrived at San Quentin, the largest prison in a state penal system that ranked high among the country’s worst.
—Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 15 Jan. 2025
These aural assassins should be rounded up and shipped to a penal island off the coast of Antarctica.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 9 Jan. 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 Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penal. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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