SENTENCE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does sentence mean? 

• SENTENCE (noun)
  The noun SENTENCE has 3 senses:

1. a string of words satisfying the grammatical rules of a language

2. (criminal law) a final judgment of guilty in a criminal case and the punishment that is imposed

3. the period of time a prisoner is imprisoned

  Familiarity information: SENTENCE used as a noun is uncommon.

• SENTENCE (verb)
  The verb SENTENCE has 1 sense:

1. pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law

  Familiarity information: SENTENCE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SENTENCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A string of words satisfying the grammatical rules of a language

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

he always spoke in grammatical sentences

Hypernyms ("sentence" is a kind of...):

linguistic string; string of words; word string (a linear sequence of words as spoken or written)

Meronyms (parts of "sentence"):

clause ((grammar) an expression including a subject and predicate functioning as a part of a complex sentence)

constituent; grammatical constituent ((grammar) a word or phrase or clause forming part of a larger grammatical construction)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sentence"):

simple sentence (a sentence having no coordinate clauses or subordinate clauses)

complex sentence (a sentence composed of at least one main clause and one subordinate clause)

compound sentence (a sentence composed of at least two coordinate independent clauses)

declarative sentence; declaratory sentence (a sentence (in the indicative mood) that makes a declaration)

run-on sentence (an ungrammatical sentence in which two or more independent clauses are conjoined without a conjunction)

topic sentence (a sentence that states the topic of its paragraph)

interrogation; interrogative; interrogative sentence; question (a sentence of inquiry that asks for a reply)

Derivation:

sentential (of or relating to a sentence)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(criminal law) a final judgment of guilty in a criminal case and the punishment that is imposed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

condemnation; conviction; judgment of conviction; sentence

Context example:

the conviction came as no surprise

Hypernyms ("sentence" is a kind of...):

final decision; final judgment (a judgment disposing of the case before the court; after the judgment (or an appeal from it) is rendered all that remains is to enforce the judgment)

Domain category:

criminal law (the body of law dealing with crimes and their punishment)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sentence"):

murder conviction (conviction for murder)

rape conviction (conviction for rape)

robbery conviction (conviction for robbery)

Derivation:

sentence (pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The period of time a prisoner is imprisoned

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

prison term; sentence; time

Context example:

he is doing time in the county jail

Hypernyms ("sentence" is a kind of...):

term (a limited period of time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sentence"):

hard time (a term served in a maximum security prison)

life; life sentence (a prison term lasting as long as the prisoner lives)

Derivation:

sentence (pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law)

• SENTENCE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they sentence    ... he / she / it sentences   
Past simple: sentenced   
Past participle: sentenced   
-ing form: sentencing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

condemn; doom; sentence

Context example:

He was condemned to ten years in prison

Hypernyms (to "sentence" is one way to...):

declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)

"Sentence" entails doing...:

convict (find or declare guilty)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sentence"):

foredoom (doom beforehand)

reprobate (abandon to eternal damnation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They want to sentence the prisoners

Derivation:

sentence ((criminal law) a final judgment of guilty in a criminal case and the punishment that is imposed)

sentence (the period of time a prisoner is imprisoned)

 Context examples 

It was like asking, as a favour, to be sentenced to transportation from Dora.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

In a few sentences I whispered what I had done.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A few broken sentences had been all she was capable of in the way of a funeral service, and now her husband was compelled to half-carry her back to the cabin.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Heaven forgive me for that last sentence, but the words came to my lips.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was silent after I had uttered the last sentence, and I presently risked an upward glance at his countenance.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I trust and hope, and sincerely wish you may never be absent from home so long again, were most delightful sentences to her.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

In my second interview with Mr. Hilton Cubitt he was able to give me two other short sentences and one message, which appeared—since there was no flag—to be a single word.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A unit of speech such as, a word, suffix, phrase, or sentence.

(Linguistic Form, NCI Thesaurus)

His sentence was pronounced, and I could only grieve and be patient.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

He paused after each sentence to collect his failing strength.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)