CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cruel and unusual punishment mean? 

• CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT (noun)
  The noun CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT has 1 sense:

1. punishment prohibited by the 8th amendment to the U.S. Constitution; includes torture or degradation or punishment too severe for the crime committed

  Familiarity information: CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Punishment prohibited by the 8th amendment to the U.S. Constitution; includes torture or degradation or punishment too severe for the crime committed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("cruel and unusual punishment" is a kind of...):

penalisation; penalization; penalty; punishment (the act of punishing)