Adjacent Words

Penalty definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PEN'ALTY, n.
1. The suffering in person or property which is annexed by law or judicial decision to the commission of a crime, offense or trespass, as a punishment. A fine is a pecuniary penalty. The usual penalties inflicted on the person, are whipping, cropping, branding, imprisonment, hard labor, transportation or death.
2. The suffering to which a person subjects himself by covenant or agreement, in case of non-fulfillment of his stipulations; the forfeiture or sum to be forfeited for non-payment, or for non-compliance with an agreement; as the penalty of a bond.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the act of punishing [syn: punishment, penalty, penalization, penalisation]
2: a payment required for not fulfilling a contract
3: the disadvantage or painful consequences of an action or condition; "neglected his health and paid the penalty" [ant: advantage, reward]
4: (games) a handicap or disadvantage that is imposed on a competitor (or a team) for an infraction of the rules of the game

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -ties) Etymology: Middle English penalte, from Middle French penalité, from Medieval Latin poenalitas, from Latin poenalis Date: 15th century 1. the suffering in person, rights, or property that is annexed by law or judicial decision to the commission of a crime or public offense 2. the suffering or the sum to be forfeited to which a person agrees to be subjected in case of nonfulfillment of stipulations 3. a. disadvantage, loss, or hardship due to some action b. a disadvantage (as loss of yardage, time, or possession of the ball or an addition to or subtraction from the score) imposed on a team or competitor for violation of the rules of a sport 4. points scored in bridge by the side that defeats the opposing contract — usually used in plural • penalty adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 a a punishment, esp. a fine, for a breach of law, contract, etc. b a fine paid. 2 a disadvantage, loss, etc., esp. as a result of one's own actions (paid the penalty for his carelessness). 3 a a disadvantage imposed on a competitor or side in a game etc. for a breach of the rules etc. b (attrib.) awarded against a side incurring a penalty (penalty kick; penalty goal). 4 Bridge etc. points gained by opponents when a contract is not fulfilled. Phrases and idioms: penalty area Football the ground in front of the goal in which a foul by defenders involves the award of a penalty kick. penalty box Ice Hockey an area reserved for penalized players and some officials. the penalty of a disadvantage resulting from (a quality etc.). penalty rate Austral. an increased rate of pay for overtime. under (or on) penalty of under the threat of (dismissal etc.). Etymology: AF penalte (unrecorded), F pénalité f. med.L penalitas (as PENAL)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Penalty Pe"nal*ty, n.; pl. Penalties. [F. p['e]nalit['e]. See Penal.] 1. Penal retribution; punishment for crime or offense; the suffering in person or property which is annexed by law or judicial decision to the commission of a crime, offense, or trespass. Death is the penalty imposed. --Milton. 2. The suffering, or the sum to be forfeited, to which a person subjects himself by covenant or agreement, in case of nonfulfillment of stipulations; forfeiture; fine. The penalty and forfeit of my bond. --Shak. 3. A handicap. [Sporting Cant] Note: The term penalty is in law mostly applied to a pecuniary punishment. Bill of pains and penalties. See under Bill. On, or Under, penalty of, on pain of; with exposure to the penalty of, in case of transgression.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(penalties) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A penalty is a punishment that someone is given for doing something which is against a law or rule. One of those arrested could face the death penalty... The maximum penalty is up to 7 years imprisonment or an unlimited fine. N-COUNT: usu sing 2. In sports such as football, rugby, and hockey, a penalty is an opportunity to score a goal, which is given to the attacking team if the defending team breaks a rule near their own goal. Referee Michael Reed had no hesitation in awarding a penalty... N-COUNT 3. The penalty that you pay for something you have done is something unpleasant that you experience as a result. Why should I pay the penalty for somebody else's mistake?... N-COUNT: usu the N in sing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Punishment, penal retribution. 2. Forfeiture, fine, mulct, amercement.

Moby Thesaurus

abatement, acquittal, agio, allowance, amercement, bank discount, breakage, burden, burthen, cargo, cash discount, castigation, chain discount, charge, charge-off, chastening, chastisement, concession, condemnation, condign punishment, correction, cross, cumbrance, cut, deadweight, decision, deduction, depreciation, deserts, difficulty, disadvantage, disciplinary measures, discipline, discount, drawback, embarrassment, encumbrance, ferule, fine, forfeit, freight, hamper, handicap, impediment, impedimenta, imposition, imprisonment, incarceration, inconvenience, infliction, judgment, judicial punishment, kickback, landmark decision, load, lumber, mulct, nemesis, onus, pack, pains, pains and punishments, pay, payment, penal retribution, penalty clause, penance, penology, percentage, premium, price, price reduction, price-cut, punishment, punition, rebate, rebatement, reduction, refund, retribution, retributive justice, rollback, salvage, scourge, sentence, setoff, tare, time discount, trade discount, tret, trouble, underselling, verdict, weight, well-deserved punishment, what-for, white elephant, write-off