sentence 1 of 2

as in ruling
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

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sentence

2 of 2

verb

as in to condemn
to impose a judicial punishment on the judge sentenced him to a fine of $50 and time served

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sentence
Noun
Madoff died in 2021 at the age of 81 while serving a 150-year sentence at the federal medical care center in a North Carolina federal prison. Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 14 July 2025 If convicted, both Wellesley and Burton face prison sentences of up to 20 years. Steve Weisman, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
Verb
Epstein's former girlfriend and associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was sentenced in 2022 for aiding Epstein in the trafficking of minors and is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 July 2025 As a part of the plea deal, the former criminology Ph.D. student will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the four first-degree murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years on the burglary count. Alex Stone, ABC News, 17 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for sentence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sentence
Noun
  • Many experts said the ruling could harm the country's most vulnerable children.
    Arthur Jones II, ABC News, 15 July 2025
  • If Bell grants the teams a TRO, NASCAR will appeal the ruling to the Fourth Circuit and hope for another win at the appellate court.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 15 July 2025
Verb
  • Huckabee, an evangelical Christian who is normally strongly supportive of Israel, harshly condemned the attack.
    Wafaa Shurafa, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 2025
  • The Trump administration accused them of belonging to the Tren de Aragua street gang in a case condemned by rights groups.
    Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 July 2025
Noun
  • Erin, who had been awaiting the verdict at the courthouse since deliberations began on Thursday, openly wept upon hearing the verdict of the first count read aloud.
    Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2025
  • In the verdict’s wake, the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) solidified an alliance with USA Gymnastics to officially sanction its competitions.
    Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 14 July 2025
Verb
  • The 22-year-old Shelton was utterly dominant in his first two matches of the tournament, punishing opponents with blistering serves and thunderous ground strokes.
    Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2025
  • The Boston Federal Reserve is already testing CBDC programs, and the examples of abuse are everywhere: China's social credit system, which punishes citizens for political dissent, and Canada freezing of truckers' bank accounts in 2022 for protesting vaccine mandates.
    Kevin Sabet, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 July 2025
Verb
  • This, in turn, makes the races – which players are doomed to watch without being able to influence what's happening – all the more thrilling.
    Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 July 2025
  • History has proven time and again, such initiatives are doomed to fail and a colossal waste of money.
    Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 17 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Sentence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sentence. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

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