Penal
/ˈpiːnəl/
adjectiveB2
Definition
Penal describes something connected to punishment, usually by law. It often refers to rules, systems, or places that deal with punishing people who break laws, like prisons or penalties in court.
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See It in Action
Related to punishment by law or legal system
- •The country has strict penal laws for theft.
- •Penal institutions like prisons are where offenders serve their sentences.
- •The judge decided on a penal fine for the offense.
Connected to penalties or punishments in general
- •The athlete received a penal warning for breaking the rules.
- •Penal measures are necessary to keep order in society.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of 'penal' like 'punish,' but used to describe things connected to punishment, not the action itself.
- ✓Picture a prison or a judge giving a punishment after someone breaks a law.
- ✓It's the feeling of consequences or rules that are strict and serious.
- ✓Sounds like 'PEE-nal' → Imagine a 'pen' writing a rule that says 'You must be punished.'
- ✓Think of stories or movies where characters face penalties or go to jail after doing something wrong.
- ✓NOT like 'reward' (good result), 'penal' is about bad results or punishment.
- ✓NOT like 'punish' (the action), 'penal' describes the system or rules about punishment.
- ✓NOT like 'criminal' (the person who breaks law), 'penal' relates to the punishment for crime.
Try Other Words
- •Punitive: related to punishment (Use when emphasizing the act of punishing or intended to punish)
- •Disciplinary: related to rules and punishment in schools or organizations (Use when talking about non-legal punishment)
- •Correctional: related to prisons or systems correcting behavior (Use when focusing on prisons or rehabilitation)
- •Legal: related to law in general (Use when talking about law broadly, not just punishment)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: 'penal' comes from Latin 'poena' meaning 'punishment' or 'penalty'
- •Etymology: From Latin root referring to punishment or penalty in legal contexts
- •Historical development: Used in English since the 17th century to describe laws and systems about punishment
- •Modern usage: Commonly used in legal language to describe anything connected with punishment, penalties, or prisons
Reflect & Connect
•How do penal systems affect people’s behavior in society?
•Can penal measures be fair and helpful, or are they only about punishment?
Fill in the blanks
1.The government introduced new penal laws to ___ crime rates in the city.
2.A penal institution is a place where people serve ___ for breaking the law.
3.Unlike rewards, penal actions are meant to ___ bad behavior.
4.The athlete received a penal warning because he ___ the competition rules.
5.Penal measures are often strict because they want to ___ others from doing wrong.
6.The judge gave a penal fine, which means the person had to ___ money as punishment.
7.Penal codes explain the ___ and consequences for different crimes.