Penal means relating to the punishment of criminals.
...director-general of penal affairs at the justice ministry.
...penal and legal systems.
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
A penal institution or colony is one where criminals are kept as punishment.
...imprisoned on an island that has served as a penal colony since Roman times.
Synonyms: disciplinary, punitive, corrective, penalizing More Synonyms of penal
penal in British English
(ˈpiːnəl)
adjective
1.
of, relating to, constituting, or prescribing punishment
2.
payable as a penalty
a penal sum
3.
used or designated as a place of punishment
a penal institution
Derived forms
penally (ˈpenally)
adverb
Word origin
C15: from Late Latin poenālis concerning punishment, from poena penalty
penal in American English
(ˈpinəl)
adjective
1.
of, for, or constituting punishment, esp. legal punishment
2.
specifying or prescribing punishment
a penal code
3.
making a person liable to punishment
a penal offense
Derived forms
penally (ˈpenally)
adverb
Word origin
ME < L poenalis < poena, punishment (> pain) < Gr poinē, penalty, fine < IE *kwoina, punishment < base *kwei-, to heed, respect, avenge > Sans cáyatē, (he) avenges, Lith káina, price
Examples of 'penal' in a sentence
penal
These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content.Read more…
Investigators have been dispatched to the remote penal colony where he is being held.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Investigators have been dispatched to the remote penal colony where he is being held.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The operation of the penal system was linked directly to the national economy.
Coyle, Andrew & Stern, Vivien The Prisons We Deserve (1994)
The reform of the penal code is an attempt to suggest modernity while doing the bare minimum about it.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It is amazing stupidity from our crazy penal system and does not give the public any confidence in being safe.
The Sun (2014)
Two are in a penal colony.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We are in an unnamed country's penal colony.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Lawyers were not the penal system 's only human faces.
The Times Literary Supplement (2011)
It is felt that the present penal system is making things worse, not better.
de Haan, Willem The Politics of Redress - crime, punishment and penal abolition (1989)
Experience tells us that if you have a penal tax system on people who choose to be here they will choose not to be here.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
A chilling picture of the unchanging American penal system.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Along with other criminals, she is shipped to the new penal colony in Australia.
The Sun (2006)
The penal system is seen as the large scale solution to the problem of organizing a rational reaction to crime in a modern, complex society.
de Haan, Willem The Politics of Redress - crime, punishment and penal abolition (1989)
The avenue to some autonomy within the penal system for the prison was clearly lying wide open; but the judiciary were hardly happy about this at first.
Boyne, Roy Foucault and Derrida - The Other Side Of Reason (1990)
Compared to the official legal and penal system, simple, informal ways of dealing with conflicts and disputes were expected to offer numerous advantages.
de Haan, Willem The Politics of Redress - crime, punishment and penal abolition (1989)
In other languages
penal
British English: penal ADJECTIVE
Penal means relating to the punishment of criminals.
...penal and legal systems.
American English: penal
Brazilian Portuguese: penal
Chinese: 有关刑罚的
European Spanish: penal
French: pénal
German: Strafrechts-
Italian: penale
Japanese: 刑事上の
Korean: 교정의
European Portuguese: penal
Latin American Spanish: penal
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All related terms of 'penal'
penal code
The penal code of a country consists of all the laws that are related to crime and punishment.
penal colony
a colony used or designated as a place of punishment
penal policy
A policy is a set of ideas or plans that is used as a basis for making decisions , especially in politics , economics , or business.
penal servitude
Penal servitude is the punishment of being sent to prison and forced to do hard physical work.
penal settlement
a colony used or designated as a place of punishment
(adjective)
Definition
of or relating to punishment
an island that served as a penal colony
Synonyms
disciplinary
She was unhappy that no disciplinary action was being taken.