nominal penalty

USAGE SUMMARY

"nominal penalty" is a perfectly correct phrase in written English.
This term is typically used to refer to a penalty or fine that is relatively small in comparison to the rules it is imposing or the potential consequences of the violation. For example, "The company was issued a nominal penalty for failing to report a spill in a timely manner."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

It was a single incident, those involved had no previous record or were only involved in a very minor way, and the likely sentence if convicted would be a nominal penalty.

The Guardian - Opinion

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

55 human-written examples

A performance evaluation of PLASTIC against various TPC-H benchmark queries showed high plan prediction accuracy, an improvement by an order of magnitude in optimization time, a nominal error penalty, and a low space overhead.

VLDB '02: Proceedings of the 28th International Conference on Very Large Databases Hong Kong SAR, China 20–23 August 2002

What can we provide everyone in the world, or failing that — as we usually do — everyone in the developed world for nominal price and with penalties if interrupted, a la power and water?

TechCrunch

For twenty years, nominal support for the death penalty and its partner in crime, "gun rights," has apparently been mandatory for any Democrat wishing to have a serious chance to be elected President.

The New Yorker

Then the effect of maintaining the vapor split ratios at their nominal value on the energy penalty was investigated for the FPDWC with two partition walls, in case of feed composition disturbance.

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering

There is instead an unwritten rule that sports success exempts one from more than nominal academic or even criminal penalties.

The New York Times - Sports

These banks have committed serial fraud and gotten away with no criminal penalties and only nominal fines -- fines paid by shareholders, and not the misbehaving bankers themselves.

Huffington Post

Mr Blunkett has already announced that he plans to downgrade cannabis to a Class C drug, which means the penalties for possession becoming nominal.

The Economist

E.ON's fine from Ofgem was a nominal £1 as Ofgem decided the £12 million penalty should go to vulnerable customers rather than the Treasury.

Independent

where p E is the conflict edge channel penalty and w N0 is the nominal edge weight.

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

Such individuals can purchase an insurance policy when they require care, but risk a penalty of 130% of total nominal premiums for the time that they were uninsured.

ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "nominal penalty" when you want to emphasize that the penalty is small or insignificant compared to the potential violation or the overall situation. For example, "The company received a "nominal penalty" for the minor infraction."

Common error

Avoid using "nominal" when you mean "normal" or "typical". "Nominal" refers to something that is small or insignificant in value or effect, while "normal" refers to something that is usual or standard.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "nominal penalty" primarily functions as a noun phrase, where "nominal" acts as a modifier specifying the nature of the "penalty". Ludwig shows it's used to describe penalties that are small and often symbolic rather than significantly punitive.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Science

30%

Formal & Business

10%

Less common in

Wiki

7%

Encyclopedias

6%

Reference

4%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "nominal penalty" denotes a small or insignificant fine or punishment. As Ludwig AI confirms, it is grammatically correct and used across various sources. While the phrase appears most frequently in news and scientific contexts, its purpose is always to emphasize the limited impact or severity of a penalty. When writing, remember to distinguish "nominal" from "normal". Alternatives such as "minor fine" or "token punishment" can be employed for stylistic variation.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

minor fine

Replaces "penalty" with a more direct synonym emphasizing the financial aspect.

small fine

Similar to "minor fine", but focuses on the insignificant amount of money.

token punishment

Replaces "nominal" with "token" to emphasize the symbolic nature of the penalty.

light sanction

Uses a more formal term, "sanction", to suggest a less severe penalty.

insignificant levy

Substitutes "penalty" with "levy" and "nominal" with "insignificant", highlighting the unimportance of the charge.

minimal consequence

Shifts the focus from the specific penalty to the overall effect.

trifling penalty

Emphasizes the insignificance of the penalty using the word "trifling".

negligible fee

Focuses on the financial aspect, describing the amount as almost nonexistent.

paltry assessment

Uses stronger language to describe how ridiculously small the penalty is.

symbolic repercussion

Highlights that the penalty is more symbolic than materially significant.

FAQs

What does "nominal penalty" mean?

A "nominal penalty" refers to a fine or punishment that is very small or insignificant, often used to show that the actual penalty is not very serious.

When is it appropriate to use the term "nominal penalty"?

Use "nominal penalty" when you want to emphasize that a fine or punishment is relatively minor compared to the offense or the potential consequences. It suggests the penalty is more symbolic than impactful.

What can I say instead of "nominal penalty"?

You can use alternatives like "minor fine", "small fine", or "token punishment" depending on the context.

Is there a difference between a "nominal penalty" and a "light penalty"?

While both terms suggest a less severe punishment, a "nominal penalty" implies an even smaller amount or consequence than a "light penalty". A "light sanction" could still be somewhat significant, while a "nominal penalty" is barely noticeable.