The act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc.

Usage examples of forfeiture.

In that night of unreflecting Toryism, a small band of men, chiefly connected with the law in Edinburgh, stood out in a profession of Whiggism, to the forfeiture of all chance of government patronage, and even of much of the confidence and esteem of society.

I told him that the police department was now using civil forfeiture laws to confiscate the vehicles of johns, and how former crash pads for hookers on some of his favorite strolls were now renting for three thousand a month.

At present the victim is afraid to invoke the law, knowing that, even if successful in securing a conviction, the only result will be an insignificant fine and forfeiture of the loan and that it will be impossible for him to secure loans in the future.

So, since on the 1st of May in the preceding year the pope had pronounced sentence of forfeiture in full consistory against Julius Caesar of Varano, as punishment for the murder of his brother Rudolph and for the harbouring of the pope's enemies, and he had accordingly been mulcted of his fief of Camerino, which was to be handed over to the apostolic chamber, Caesar left Rome to put the sentence in execution.

The judges appointed to the circuits were given a more full independence than they had before, and were no longer joined with the sheriffs of the counties in their sessions, their powers were extended beyond criminal jurisdiction to questions of property, of inheritance, of wardship, of forfeiture of crown lands, of advowsons to churches, and of the tenure of land.

English bagpipers and Viking horn-blowers had all alike been threatened with disgrace, torment and forfeiture of a week's ale ration if they sounded a note.

Seeing then Eternall life was lost by Adams forfeiture, in committing sin, he that should cancell that forfeiture was to recover thereby, that Life again.

Widows under that age were compelled to form a second alliance within the term of five years, by the forfeiture of half their wealth to their nearest relations, or to the state.

The energy developed and the employment afforded by the State will descend like water that the sun has sucked out of the sea to fall upon a mountain range, and back to the sea again it will come at last, debouching in ground rent and royalty and license fees, in the fees of travellers and profits upon carrying and coinage and the like, in death duty, transfer tax, legacy and forfeiture, returning to the sea.

And forfeiture gives the third — despotical power to lords for their own benefit over those who are stripped of all property.

And forfeiture gives the third despotical power to lords for their own benefit, over those who are stripped of all property.

Forfeitures imposed by the English Crown led our nation's founders to prohibit bills of attainder (forfeiture consequent to conviction) in the first article of the American Constitution.

The feds lill pull every trick in the book to be sure it's assigned to a judge with a strong history of endorsing the forfeiture laws.

The wisdom of Augustus, after curbing the freedom of revenge, applied to this domestic offence the animadversion of the laws: and the guilty parties, after the payment of heavy forfeitures and fines, were condemned to long or perpetual exile in two separate islands.

Instead, he hoped to maintain his bundle in the face of the forfeitures and fines the government could exact.