custodial

[kuh-stoh-dee-uhl]

adjective

1. of or relating to custody.

2. of, relating to, or appropriate to a custodian.

   a building superintendent's custodial duties.

3. responsible for or providing protective supervision and guardianship rather than seeking to improve or cure.

   Overcrowding forces many mental hospitals to provide only custodial care.

noun

1. a container or receptacle for something sacred, as the Host.

Other Word Forms

• custodialism noun
• noncustodial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of custodial¹

1765–75; < Latin custōdi ( a ) custody + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Smith operated under several fake company names, alongside his son Joseph, 18, who also pleaded guilty and was given a 20-month custodial sentence in a young offender institution, suspended for 23 months.

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In addition to the record numbers inside Scotland's jails, the SPS said that more than 120 people on custodial sentences had recently been managed in the community through home detention curfews.

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There were just over 57,000 releases of prisoners who had finished the custodial part of their sentences in England and Wales in 2024-25.

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He was given a custodial sentence but it was entered in the computer system as a suspended sentence.

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"It noted a new previously unidentified risk had been observed in relation to his custodial behaviour and that this was yet to be properly explored or addressed."

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Related Words

• careful 
• defensive 
• jealous 
• possessive 
• vigilant 
• warm 
• watchful