The process by which sediment particles that have a certain characteristic, such as a given shape or grain size, are separated from other associated particles by an active agent of transportation, such as wind, a stream, or a glacier. A measure of the degree to which this process has occurred within a body of sediment.
punitive adjective. âº formal or specialized law âintended as a âpunishment: punitive âaction The UN has âimposed punitive âsanctions on the âinvading âcountry. She is âsuing the ânewspaper for $5 million punitive âdamages, âclaiming they âknew the âarticle about her was âuntrue.
The claim that corporal punishment is an especially effective deterrent has been refuted by empirical evidence, however, which shows that offenders who are punished by corporal means are actually slightly more likely to commit further crimes than are those punished by imprisonment.