put to death
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To kill someone, especially as an official punishment ordered by a legal authority. This phrase specifically refers to the act of carrying out a death sentence.
Usage
- This verb phrase is used in formal or legal contexts to describe the act of legally killing someone as a punishment for a crime.
- It is typically used in the passive voice (e.g., "was put to death") or with an object (e.g., "to put someone to death").
- It implies the action is sanctioned by a governing or judicial system.
Examples
- Verb:
- The convicted traitor was put to death by firing squad.
- The king ordered his rivals to be put to death.
- In that era, people could be put to death for heresy.
Advanced Usage
- "to be put to death": The most common construction, describing the fate of the person being executed.
- The prisoners were put to death at dawn.
- The phrase can be used in historical, legal, or news reporting contexts to convey the formal and severe nature of execution.
Variants and Related Words
- Execute (verb): To carry out a death sentence. This is a more direct synonym often used in legal language.
- The state executed the murderer.
- Execution (noun): The act of putting someone to death.
- The execution was carried out humanely.
Synonyms
- Execute: To kill someone as a legal punishment.
- Carry out a death sentence: A more descriptive phrase with the same meaning.
Related Phrases
- Condemned to death: Refers to the sentencing phase, before the act of "putting to death" is carried out.
- He was condemned to death for his crimes.
- Face execution: To be in a situation where one is to be put to death.
- The prisoners faced execution the following week.
Verb
- kill as a means of socially sanctioned punishment
- In some states, criminals are executed