sentence
- 01 A1 Beginner
a group of words that starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark.
a grammatical unit consisting of one or more words that are grammatically linked and express a complete thought.
Simple“Please write a short sentence about your favorite hobby.”
In context“The student struggled to identify the main verb in the complex sentence, despite having a strong grasp of basic syntax.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
the official punishment given by a judge to someone who has committed a crime.
the formal pronouncement of punishment by a court of law upon a defendant who has been found guilty.
Simple“The judge gave him a three-year sentence for the robbery.”
In context“The defendant received a suspended sentence on the condition that he perform two hundred hours of community service over the next year.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
a short, wise statement or a famous saying.
a concise statement of a principle or a maxim. This sense is largely restricted to literary or historical contexts.
Simple“The old book was full of wise sentences about how to live a good life.”
In context“The philosopher's prose was dense with pithy sentences that required deep reflection to fully comprehend.”
Usage sentenced to life · sentenced to years · sentenced to death
Borrowed from Middle French sentence, from Latin sententia (“way of thinking, opinion, sentiment”), from sentiēns, present participle of sentiō (“to feel, think”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to feel”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.