PENALTY • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • 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

... cried the Elector. "He ventures thus to brave me—to oppose himself to my strict injunctions? Or have you not handed him my letter, Schlieben? Or have you not repeated to him all that I said and urged you by word of mouth to convey to him? Did you not inform him that I ordered him, under penalty of my princely and fatherly displeasure, to set out and journey hither ...

— The Youth of the Great Elector • L. Muhlbach

... it," he said. "Trust them for nosing out. And the Government's answering them. They say you're going to suffer for your crimes. Hark to this... um, um... 'The wretched felon now in Newgate will incur the just penalty...' Then they slaps the West Indies in the face. 'When the planters threaten to recur to some other power for protection, they, of course, believe that the loss of the colonies ...

— Romance • Joseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer

... here? Yes, yes, yes! I tell you it was fate that did all these things—your fate. The curse from which you can never escape. Moreton Bucklaw!" She mouthed the words with insane glee. "It is almost laughable," she cried. "You have promised to marry the foster-son of the man who is shortly to pay the penalty ...

— The Golden Woman - A Story of the Montana Hills • Ridgwell Cullum

... "The sentence of the court is that you pay a fine of one hundred dollars and the costs of the prosecution." Then the unruly defendant answers: "May it please your Honor, I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty," and more to the same effect, all of which she has lived up to. The "ladylike" Judge had gained some insight into the determination of the prisoner; so, not wishing to incarcerate her to all eternity, he added gently: "Madam, the court will not order you committed until ...

— Eighty Years And More; Reminiscences 1815-1897 • Elizabeth Cady Stanton

... from fear of the penalty or the purity of her motives, never again allowed herself to be placed in the same hazardous position. She had been cured of unfaithfulness, and promised that Hippolyte Charles should never be allowed to lead ...

— The Tragedy of St. Helena • Walter Runciman

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