sentencing

VERB

decide punishment

Synonyms

STRONGEST

blame condemn confine convict imprison incarcerate jail penalize punish

STRONG

adjudge adjudicate damn denounce devote doom impound judge ordain proscribe railroad rule settle

WEAK

mete out pass judgment put away put on ice send to prison send up the river take the fall throw the book at

Antonyms

STRONGEST

exonerate free let go liberate pardon praise release reward

STRONG

commend

WEAK

accuse charge

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Sentencing Tajik, the judge noted that the Afghan national let go of the tiller as rescuers arrived, which resulted in the boat spinning around, further increasing the threat to those on board.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Sentencing Ali on Wednesday, Recorder Simon James said people had been "packed into every inch of available space", and were left "at the mercy of the unpredictable sea".

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Sentencing of Aspiration’s Joseph Sanberg to 14 years in prison moves the NBA closer to finishing its probe into whether the Clippers skirted the league’s salary cap.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

Sentencing at the city's crown court earlier, Judge Nicholas Dean said the collision on 9 March was "wholly unnecessary and entirely avoidable".

From BBC • May 29, 2026

Instead, as Marc Mauer of the Sentencing Project has noted, “all of these phenomenon were subsumed under the heading of ‘crime in the streets.’”

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander