Presentence
adj, noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A sentence-like utterance that precedes the development of properly grammatical sentences.
- 1 To sentence in advance. transitive
"[…] he was conscious to himself that he had prejudged, preconvicted, and even presentenced the Man whom he tried, months before he heard his case, as is demonstrated by his threat to Mrs. MILBANK "that he would send him into penal servitude!" […]"
- 1 Occurring before or in preparation for a criminal sentence. not-comparable
""Pulitzer's request"--Marshall would eventually write--"is both novel and complex, pitting the public's right to know […] against the traditional confidentiality of presentence investigation materials.""
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples""Pulitzer's request"--Marshall would eventually write--"is both novel and complex, pitting the public's right to know […] against the traditional confidentiality of presentence investigation materials.""
Etymology
From pre- + sentence.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.