attainder
Americannoun
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the legal consequence of judgment of death or outlawry for treason or felony, involving the loss of all civil rights.
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Obsolete. dishonor.
noun
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(formerly) the extinction of a person's civil rights resulting from a sentence of death or outlawry on conviction for treason or felony See also bill of attainder
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obsolete dishonour
Etymology
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
Vocabulary lists containing attainder
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And the Supreme Court may not see this law as a bill of attainder either.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2025
That is the process the bill of attainder tells us is the appropriate one for investigation, prosecution, and punishment, with all of the attributes of that branch.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2023
And as for a retroactive attainder aimed at the descendants of slave owners, that one is pretty tricky, too.
From Fox News ● Aug. 19, 2019
A bill of attainder is a legislative act that provides for the punishment of a person without a court trial.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2016
The men, who accompanied the knight to his home, had already learnt the news of Strafford’s attainder; which, like a blaze of cheerful light, was fast spreading over the land.
From The White Gauntlet by Mayne Reid
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
