corporal punishment

See synonyms for corporal punishment on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Law. physical punishment, as flogging, inflicted on the body of one convicted of a crime: formerly included the death penalty, sentencing to a term of years, etc.

  2. physical punishment, as spanking, inflicted on a child by an adult in authority.

Origin of corporal punishment

1
First recorded in 1575–85

Words Nearby corporal punishment

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use corporal punishment in a sentence

  • Confinement beyond twenty-four hours, and the corporal punishment of adults, were expressly forbidden.

  • corporal punishment, however necessary and desirable for some dispositions, always produced on Eric the worst effects.

    Eric, or Little by Little | Frederic W. Farrar
  • corporal punishment was avoided with the bigger boys, and Brigson had never undergone it before.

    Eric, or Little by Little | Frederic W. Farrar
  • They think that corporal punishment breaks the spirit of the child, and in this they appear to be wiser than their white brethren.

  • First: Perfect discipline is said to be attained without the use of corporal punishment.

    Ocean to Ocean on Horseback | Willard Glazier

British Dictionary definitions for corporal punishment

corporal punishment

noun
  1. punishment of a physical nature, such as caning, flogging, or beating

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