Penal

//ˈpiːnəl// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or relating to punishment. not-comparable

    "penal servitude"

  2. 2
    Subject to punishment; punishable. not-comparable

    "a penal offence"

  3. 3
    Serving as a place of punishment. not-comparable

    "a penal colony"

  4. 4
    Exorbitant. not-comparable

    "a penal rate of interest"

Adjective
  1. 1
    (of an act or offense) subject to punishment by law wordnet
  2. 2
    serving as or designed to impose punishment wordnet
  3. 3
    of or relating to punishment wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
carceralcorrectivedisciplinarygruelingpenarypenitentiary

Example

More examples

"Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence."

Etymology

From Old French peinal, from Medieval Latin penalis, from Latin poenalis, from poena (“punishment”), from Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ, “punishment”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂.

Related phrases

penal codepenal colonypenal lawpenal noticepenal officerpenal populismpenal rosarypenal substitutionpenal-industrial complex

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.