PENALTY • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Penalty

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/pˈɛnəlti/ Listen

noun

Penalty n. (pl. penalties)

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."

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."

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 penalty of, or Under penalty of, on pain of; with exposure to the penalty of, in case of transgression.

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Etymology of 'Penalty'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Penalty" Quotes from Famous Books

... Atonement; the one at New Haven on the Divinity of Christ, including Bushnell's doctrine of the trinity; the one at Andover on Dogma and Spirit, a plea for the cessation of strife. He says squarely of the old school theories of the atonement, which represent Christ as suffering the penalty of the law in our stead: 'They are capable, one and all of them, of no light in which they do not offend some right sentiment of our moral being. If the great Redeemer, in the excess of his goodness, consents to receive the penal woes of the ...

— Edward Caldwell Moore - Outline of the History of Christian Thought Since Kant • Edward Moore

... neither to look at nor speak to me? So be it. At least you must listen to me. You may not care to hear that I have been absent, but perhaps it will interest you to know that I went in search of the man for whose crime you are paying the penalty." ...

— At the Mercy of Tiberius • August Evans Wilson

... ancient law.(885) Observe the mean where justice lies, And spare his life but still chastise." Then forth the tyrant's fury broke, And thus in angry words he spoke: "O hero, when the wicked bleed No sin or shame attends the deed. The Vanar's blood must needs be spilt, The penalty of ...

— The Ramayana • VALMIKI

... you and I remember him," said Sir John. "But how many others? That's the penalty of Indian service. You are soon forgotten, in India as quickly as here. In most cases, no doubt, it doesn't matter. Men just as good and younger stand waiting at the milestones to carry on the torch. But in some cases I think ...

— The Broken Road • A. E. W. Mason

... is this according to the Law of Moses? According to the Law was not grain left in the corners for the gleaners? Was not stealing and lying forbidden among Israelites? Was usury not forbidden under great penalty? And was not the year of Jubilee proclaimed? Hath the Law ...

— The Coming of the King • Bernie Babcock

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