Punishment: English Vocabulary List

a punishment given for breaking a rule, law, or legal agreement

"He got a big penalty today."

"The penalty for driving without a license is a large fine and possible jail time."

an amount of money that must be paid as a legal punishment

"I had to pay a parking fine for overstaying."

"The driver had to pay a large fine for parking his car illegally in front of a fire hydrant."

the act of placing someone in prison or jail as a lawful penalty

"He was sentenced to life imprisonment."

"The judge sentenced the criminal to ten years of imprisonment for his many violent crimes."

the act of punishing a criminal by death

"The execution of the traitor was swift and brutal."

"The execution of the prisoner was carried out despite numerous appeals from international human rights groups."

to violently hurt a person as a punishment or as a way of obtaining information from them

"The captors tortured their prisoners brutally."

"International law prohibits the use of torture under any circumstances even during times of war or national emergency."

to violently hit a person or animal with a whip

"The old punishment was to whip criminals."

"In the past prisoners were sometimes punished by being whipped with a leather strap as a form of physical discipline."