'Sentence' definitions:

Definition of 'sentence'

(from WordNet)
noun
A string of words satisfying the grammatical rules of a language; "he always spoke in grammatical sentences"
noun
(criminal law) a final judgment of guilty in a criminal case and the punishment that is imposed; "the conviction came as no surprise" [syn: conviction, judgment of conviction, condemnation, sentence] [ant: acquittal]
noun
The period of time a prisoner is imprisoned; "he served a prison term of 15 months"; "his sentence was 5 to 10 years"; "he is doing time in the county jail" [syn: prison term, sentence, time]
verb
Pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law; "He was condemned to ten years in prison" [syn: sentence, condemn, doom]

Definition of 'Sentence'

From: GCIDE
  • Sentence \Sen"tence\, n. [F., from L. sententia, for sentientia, from sentire to discern by the senses and the mind, to feel, to think. See Sense, n., and cf. Sentiensi.]
  • 1. Sense; meaning; significance. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
  • Tales of best sentence and most solace. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • The discourse itself, voluble enough, and full of sentence. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. (a) An opinion; a decision; a determination; a judgment, especially one of an unfavorable nature. [1913 Webster]
  • My sentence is for open war. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • That by them [Luther's works] we may pass sentence upon his doctrines. --Atterbury. [1913 Webster] (b) A philosophical or theological opinion; a dogma; as, Summary of the Sentences; Book of the Sentences. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. (Law) In civil and admiralty law, the judgment of a court pronounced in a cause; in criminal and ecclesiastical courts, a judgment passed on a criminal by a court or judge; condemnation pronounced by a judicial tribunal; doom. In common law, the term is exclusively used to denote the judgment in criminal cases. [1913 Webster]
  • Received the sentence of the law. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. A short saying, usually containing moral instruction; a maxim; an axiom; a saw. --Broome. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. (Gram.) A combination of words which is complete as expressing a thought, and in writing is marked at the close by a period, or full point. See Proposition, 4. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: Sentences are simple or compound. A simple sentence consists of one subject and one finite verb; as, "The Lord reigns." A compound sentence contains two or more subjects and finite verbs, as in this verse: [1913 Webster]
  • He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
  • Dark sentence, a saying not easily explained. [1913 Webster]
  • A king . . . understanding dark sentences. --Dan. vii. 23. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Sentence'

From: GCIDE
  • Sentence \Sen"tence\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sentenced; p. pr. & vb. n. Sentencing.]
  • 1. To pass or pronounce judgment upon; to doom; to condemn to punishment; to prescribe the punishment of. [1913 Webster]
  • Nature herself is sentenced in your doom. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To decree or announce as a sentence. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To utter sententiously. [Obs.] --Feltham. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'sentence'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Sentence'