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Synonyms

death penalty

American  

noun

  1. capital punishment.

death penalty British  

noun

  1. capital punishment

"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

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.

Nationwide, support for the death penalty has been waning for decades.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Prosecutors have not yet determined whether they will seek the death penalty in the case.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

The death penalty is normally carried out at the state level in the United States but the federal government can also seek execution for a limited set of crimes.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

The DA's office could eventually seek the death penalty in the case, he added.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

I went back to law school with an intense desire to understand the laws and doctrines that sanctioned the death penalty and extreme punishments.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

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.