punish
Americanverb (used with object)
-
punishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
punished,
past participle, past
-
punishing
present participle
-
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
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to inflict a penalty for (an offense, fault, etc.).
Unconditional imprisonment is imposed to punish past transgressions.
- Synonyms:
- penalize
- Antonyms:
- reward
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to mistreat, abuse, or hurt.
Additional tariffs will punish working families with higher prices on household basics.
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to handle severely or roughly, as in a fight.
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to put to painful exertion, as a horse in racing.
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Informal. to make a heavy inroad on; deplete.
to punish a quart of whiskey.
verb (used without object)
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punishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
punished,
past participle, past
-
punishing
present participle
verb
-
to force (someone) to undergo a penalty or sanction, such as imprisonment, fines, death, etc, for some crime or misdemeanour
-
(tr) to inflict punishment for (some crime, etc)
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(tr) to use or treat harshly or roughly, esp as by overexertion
to punish a horse
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informal (tr) to consume (some commodity) in large quantities
to punish the bottle
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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punishernoun
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overpunishverb
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repunishverb
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prepunishverb (used with object)
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punishingadjective
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quasi-punishedadjective
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self-punishedadjective
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unpunishedadjective
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well-punishedadjective
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punishinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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punishsimple
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punishessimple
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have punishedperfect
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has punishedperfect
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am punishingprogressive
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are punishingprogressive
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is punishingprogressive
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have been punishingperfect progressive
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has been punishingperfect progressive
Past
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punishedsimple
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had punishedperfect
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was punishingprogressive
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were punishingprogressive
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had been punishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of punish
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English punischen, from Middle French puniss-, long stem of punir, from Latin pūnīre; akin to poena penalty, pain
Explanation
To punish is to discipline or penalize someone because they've done something wrong. If you stole the cookie from the cookie jar, someone may have to punish you. Not you? Then who? A judge will often punish a guilty defendant with community service or parole — or sometimes even with time spent in prison, if the crime is serious enough. You probably punish your puppy for chewing your shoes simply with a firm "No!" Sometimes people are punished unfairly, like how higher gas prices punish the people who can already barely afford to drive to their jobs.
Vocabulary lists containing punish
Louder than Hunger
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"Seeking Freedom"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Under the accord, US military authorities have the primary right to investigate and punish service members in Japan when they are on official duty.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026
And if you give them corruption that is showy and shameless, they will punish you.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
The inevitable decision to punish Grealish, taken at high level within the club but with input and full support from Moyes, leaves him at the crossroads.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
I think the job of regulators is to go there and police the markets, be the cop on the beat and punish wrongdoers who seek to take advantage.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
She thinks I’m trying to punish myself, but I figure it’s still just someone trying to sell something, and I’m not buying.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
As portrayed by an excellent Samantha Sloyan, Margaret still punishes Carrie by frequently shoving her into a prayer closet, but she’s also more grounded in her humanity.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
If the North punishes the POWs' families and word spreads, it "could provoke unrest among the families of other soldiers", he said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
“The same rate hike that helps a CD also punishes anyone carrying a credit-card balance.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
This punishes companies for using recycled metal already circulating through our domestic supply chain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
At the happy ending of The Tempest, Prospero brings the king back together with his son, and finds Miranda’s true love, and punishes the bad duke, and frees Ariel, and becomes a duke himself again.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
Hardware and software stocks alike have been swept up by concerns about the sustainability of the artificial-intelligence trade — but analysts say some of those shares have been unjustly punished.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
Traders punished the stock with a 13% decline Thursday that marked its worst day on record, hammering major Alphabet shareholders such as Berkshire Hathaway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
"This earnings season has been tough on AI players, with most getting punished against a backdrop of AI bubble and inflation fears," Anna Wu, of Floodlines Research, said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
The penalty for withdrawals from existing Lifetime Isas will be lowered, too, to address concerns about savers being punished.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
“If you want to be punished for something you didn’t do, I guess I could keep quiet...though I don’t like it.”
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Their first meeting at Birmingham's NEC lived up to the bitter build-up, with the pair trading punishing blows in a ferocious contest.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
His purchase helps explain why Harley is bucking a downturn in sales of leisure products: High interest rates, punishing gas prices and broad economic anxiety have dented sales of everything from RVs to boats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
What’s the use of punishing a terminally ill man?
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde on Wednesday urged the eurozone to adapt faster to climate change as the economic costs mount, after a summer of punishing heatwaves.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
“We don’t make a habit of punishing anyone that frail.”
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
