under pain of

Idioms  

1. see on pain of.

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Example Sentences

Mr Williamson described the power that police officers have at ports and airport as "extraordinary" and said there needed to be "assiduous oversight" of this power, which he described as the only one there was to "compel people under pain of criminal penalty to answer questions".

From BBC

They all listened as the sergeant at arms announced “hear ye, hear ye, all persons are commanded to keep silent under pain of imprisonment” during the course of the impeachment trial.

From Slate

“They are told, under pain of high treason, that they cannot say a word about Ukraine. And I think that is pretty awful. And I think we should all stand together — and also for those people, the people in Russia, who don’t like what’s going on, and particularly the artists. And I think we should really join in celebrating them and hoping that they can actually make a shift. Because I believe they can.”

From Los Angeles Times

So second line parades and celebratory remembrances of the recently deceased are forbidden under pain of possible arrest.

From Washington Times

Never has it been more apparent that the vaunted Senate chamber is functionally identical to your second-grade classroom: tiny desks, assigned seats, and occupants forbidden from talking during lectures under “pain of imprisonment.”

From Washington Post