attainder

[ uh-teyn-der ]

/ əˈteɪn dər /

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noun

the legal consequence of judgment of death or outlawry for treason or felony, involving the loss of all civil rights.

Obsolete. dishonor.

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Origin of attainder

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English attaynder, atteindor, noun use of Old French ataindre, ateindre “to attain, touch (upon), affect, convict”; see origin at attain

Words nearby attainder

attack dog, attack rate, attagirl, attain, attainable, attainder, attainment, attainment target, attaint, attainture, Attalid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use attainder in a sentence

That, courts have agreed, is very British in its bill of attainder origins.
One Very Big Problem With the Democrats' Billionaires Tax|Philip Elliott|October 27, 2021|Time
That gentleman had been permitted to pass an act of attainder, which had lain unnoticed on the table for six weeks.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.|E. Farr and E. H. Nolan
His attainder, and that of his family, together with the forfeiture of his lands, was then pronounced.
The Rivers of Great Britain: Rivers of the East Coast|Various
In 1759 his attainder was reversed, but he continued to live abroad.
Boswell's Correspondence with the Honourable Andrew Erskine, and His Journal of a Tour to Corsica|James Boswell

The charge of high treason could not be legally established, and a bill of attainder was passed against him in 1645.
The Cathedral Church of Canterbury [2nd ed.].|Hartley Withers
Dare you put eight and twenty millions of men into your bill of attainder?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 347, September, 1844|Various

British Dictionary definitions for attainder

attainder

/ (əˈteɪndə) /

noun

(formerly) the extinction of a person's civil rights resulting from a sentence of death or outlawry on conviction for treason or felonySee also bill of attainder

obsolete dishonour

Archaic equivalent: attainture (əˈteɪntʃə)

Word Origin for attainder

C15: from Anglo-French attaindre to convict, from Old French ateindre to attain

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012