punish

[ puhn-ish ]

verb (used with object)

1. to subject to pain, loss, confinement, death, etc., as a penalty for some offense, transgression, or fault:

   The goal of the court is to punish the criminal for the crime he has committed.

   Synonyms: penalize, discipline, castigate, chastise

   Antonyms: reward

2. to inflict a penalty for (an offense, fault, etc.):

   Unconditional imprisonment is imposed to punish past transgressions.

   Synonyms: penalize

   Antonyms: reward

3. to mistreat, abuse, or hurt:

   Additional tariffs will punish working families with higher prices on household basics.

4. to handle severely or roughly, as in a fight.
5. to put to painful exertion, as a horse in racing.
6. Informal. to make a heavy inroad on; deplete:

   to punish a quart of whiskey.

verb (used without object)

1. to inflict punishment.

punish

/ ˈpʌnɪʃ /

verb

1. to force (someone) to undergo a penalty or sanction, such as imprisonment, fines, death, etc, for some crime or misdemeanour
2. tr to inflict punishment for (some crime, etc)
3. tr to use or treat harshly or roughly, esp as by overexertion

   to punish a horse

4. informal.
   tr to consume (some commodity) in large quantities

   to punish the bottle

Derived Forms

• ˈpunishing, adjective
• ˈpunisher, noun
• ˈpunishingly, adverb

Other Words From

• pun·ish·er noun
• o·ver·pun·ish verb
• pre·pun·ish verb (used with object)
• qua·si-pun·ished adjective
• re·pun·ish verb
• self-pun·ished adjective
• un·pun·ished adjective
• well-pun·ished adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of punish¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English punischen, from Middle French puniss-, long stem of punir, from Latin pūnīre; akin to poena penalty, pain

Word History and Origins

Origin of punish¹

C14 punisse, from Old French punir, from Latin pūnīre to punish, from poena penalty

Synonym Study

Punish, correct, discipline refer to making evident public or private disapproval of violations of law, wrongdoing, or refusal to obey rules or regulations by imposing penalties. To punish is chiefly to inflict penalty or pain as a retribution for misdeeds, with little or no expectation of correction or improvement: to punish a thief. To correct is to reprove or inflict punishment for faults, specifically with the idea of bringing about improvement: to correct a rebellious child. To discipline is to give a kind of punishment that will educate or will establish useful habits: to discipline a careless driver.

Example Sentences

City Manager Georgeanne White warned the council that rejecting the proposal could result in the state punishing the city on its next application for Homekey funding.

From Los Angeles Times

"Ukraine will never submit to the occupiers, and the Russian military will be punished for violating international law," the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

From BBC

The step, reported over the weekend by multiple news outlets, comes at a pivot point in a punishing war — as Ukraine this week marks 1,000 days since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.

From Los Angeles Times

If he becomes chairman, Carr has indicated he will punish news organizations that negatively cover Trump.

From Salon

This one is a purge for the sheer pleasure of punishing people Donald Trump doesn't like and a message to all who might think of opposing him in the future.

From Salon

Related Words

• abuse
• chastise
• correct
• crack down on
• discipline
• dismiss
• execute
• expel
• fine
• harm
• hurt
• incarcerate
• sentence