of, pertaining to, or involving punishment, as for crimes or offenses.

prescribing punishment

penal laws.

constituting punishment

He survived the years of penal hardship.

used as a place of confinement and punishment

a penal colony.

subject to or incurring punishment

a penal offense.

payable or forfeitable as a penalty

a penal sum.

adjective

chastening , corrective , penalizing , punishing , punitive , punitory , reformatory , retributivenotes:penal means \'relating to punishment\' while punitive means \'serving to punish\' , castigatory , condign , disciplinary , expiatory , penitentiary , reformative , retributive , retributory