DEATH PENALTY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does death penalty mean? 

• DEATH PENALTY (noun)
  The noun DEATH PENALTY has 1 sense:

1. putting a condemned person to death

  Familiarity information: DEATH PENALTY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEATH PENALTY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Putting a condemned person to death

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

capital punishment; death penalty; executing; execution

Hypernyms ("death penalty" is a kind of...):

corporal punishment (the infliction of physical injury on someone convicted of committing a crime)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "death penalty"):

burning; burning at the stake (execution by fire)

hanging (a form of capital punishment; victim is suspended by the neck from a gallows or gibbet until dead)

burning; electrocution (execution by electricity)

beheading; decapitation (execution by cutting off the victim's head)

crucifixion (the act of executing by a method widespread in the ancient world; the victim's hands and feet are bound or nailed to a cross)