death sentence

noun

: a sentence condemning a convicted defendant to death

: an affliction or a situation that is considered to be fatal

also : a prognosis of death

Examples of death sentence in a Sentence

She received a death sentence for the murders.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Unlike their male counterparts, women facing capital-murder charges rarely have a criminal record that the prosecutor can use to demonstrate their future danger to the community—a critical factor in securing a death sentence. —

Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025 Once a death sentence, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can now be managed with antiretroviral therapy (ART) drugs. —

Michael Irving, New Atlas, 31 Jan. 2025 There was a time when losing the last game of the season was a death sentence in college football. —

Jason Lloyd, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025 No governor in the state has ever reduced a death sentence to life in prison without parole in the modern era of the death penalty. —

Landon Mion, Fox News, 1 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for death sentence

Word History

First Known Use

1655, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of death sentence was in 1655

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Death sentence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death%20sentence. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

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