attainder
Civil rights extinction
Attainder is the legal extinction of a person's civil rights following conviction for treason or felony.
Historically, attainder meant the condemned could not own property, make contracts, or pass inheritance to heirs—their "blood was corrupted." A bill of attainder is a legislative act declaring someone guilty without trial, prohibited by the U.S.
Constitution.
The term survives mainly in legal and historical contexts.
Betraying one's nation
- high treasonBetrayal of one's nation
- felonySerious criminal offense
- civil deathForfeiture of rights while living
- outlawryStatus of declared criminal
parliament · statute · legislation · enactment · writ · judgment · verdict · conviction
Seizure by authority
- escheatState inherits heirless estates
- expropriationGovernment taking private property
- seizureForcible taking or convulsion
- dispossessionDeprival of property rights
deprivation · loss · divestiture · surrender · relinquishment · alienation · cession · abdication
Completing a planned task
- death penaltyLegal execution for crimes
- beheadingRemoval of head
- hangingExecution by noose
- sentenceComplete thought, grammatically
penalty · retribution · chastisement · sanction · deterrence · scaffold · Tower · traitor
Passed through generations
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
disinheritance · primogeniture · entailment · patrimony · succession · progeny · heirs · posterity
Loss of respect
- infamyExtreme public disgrace
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- stigmaMark of dishonor
- ignominyState of dishonor
disrepute · degradation · humiliation · discredit · opprobrium · notoriety · reproach · taint
Complete change of direction
- repealAnnul a statute
- pardonOfficial release from punishment
- amnestyGroup pardon from authorities
- reinstatementReturn to previous position
restoration · exoneration · acquittal · remission · reprieve · annulment · rescission · quashing
treason
Betraying one's nation
- high treasonBetrayal of one's nation
- felonySerious criminal offense
- civil deathForfeiture of rights while living
outlawry · parliament · statute · legislation · enactment · writ · judgment · verdict · conviction · disenfranchisement
confiscation
Seizure by authority
- escheatState inherits heirless estates
- expropriationGovernment taking private property
- seizureForcible taking or convulsion
dispossession · deprivation · loss · divestiture · surrender · relinquishment · alienation · cession · abdication · waiver
execution
Completing a planned task
- death penaltyLegal execution for crimes
- beheadingRemoval of head
- hangingExecution by noose
sentence · penalty · retribution · chastisement · sanction · deterrence · scaffold · Tower · traitor · condemned
hereditary
Passed through generations
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- descentDownward slope or lineage
inheritance · disinheritance · primogeniture · entailment · patrimony · succession · progeny · heirs · posterity · dynasty
dishonor
Loss of respect
ignominy · disrepute · degradation · humiliation · discredit · opprobrium · notoriety · reproach · taint · stain
reversal
Complete change of direction
reinstatement · restoration · exoneration · acquittal · remission · reprieve · annulment · rescission · quashing · vindication
- ConstitutionBill of Rights, preamble, articles, U.S. Constitution, Article I
- feudal punishmenthanging, flogging, whipping, pillory, dungeon
- historical lawJustinian Code, Roman law, curtesy, Napoleonic Code, Twelve Tables
- legal archaismsescheat, outlawry, livery of seisin, trial by ordeal, trial by combat
- Tudor GovernmentHouse of Commons, House of Lords, Star Chamber, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII
- English Lawbarristers, solicitors, solicitor, High Court, Crown Court
attainderpardon
Official release from punishment
exoneration · amnesty · acquittal · rehabilitation · reinstatement
attainderennoblement
Conferring noble rank
knighthood · honors · commendation · investiture · glorification
attainderennoblement
Conferring noble rank
peerage · knighthood · noble title · inheritance rights · legitimation