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Synonyms

death penalty

American  

noun

  • death penalties
    plural
  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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


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.

See Examples For:

Nathan Hochman said last month he will not pursue the death penalty in the Reiner case.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

"Christa Pike was sentenced to death more than 30 years ago, at a time when support for the death penalty was much higher, we had more than 300 new death sentences every year," Maher said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

A critical climate case is on the docket and the justice’s record on the death penalty was on full display with the botched execution of Christa Pike; they discuss it all.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

Maher said there has been "quite a bit of activity" in state legislatures to approve and reauthorise other methods of execution since Trump began expressing enthusiasm for the death penalty.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

This new information led the prosecutor to drop the charges, sparing Ms. Lee a capital trial and, potentially, the death penalty.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

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