Punic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the ancient Carthaginians.
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treacherous; perfidious: originally applied by the Romans to the Carthaginians.
noun
adjective
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of or relating to ancient Carthage or the Carthaginians
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characteristic of the treachery of the Carthaginians
noun
Etymology
Origin of Punic
< Latin Pūnicus, earlier Poenicus Carthaginian, equivalent to Poen ( us ) a Phoenician, a Carthaginian (akin to Greek Phoînix a Phoenician ) + -icus -ic
Explanation
Someone who's punic is likely to betray you. You could describe your brother as punic if he promises to keep a secret and then immediately tells it to all of his friends at school. A punic person is treacherous or two-faced, unlikely to be loyal. You risk being called punic if you're nice to your friend but gossip about her behind her back. The adjective punic is sometimes capitalized, and in that case it means "of or relating to Carthage," which was a famous ancient empire and is still a city in Tunisia today. Because the ancient Romans thought the Carthaginians were traitorous and unreliable, punic came to also have this meaning.
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.
Before the Punic Wars, Carthage alternately supported and clashed with the Sicilian city of Syracuse, ruled by the tyrant-king Agathocles from 317 B.C. to 289 B.C.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
Prof Philomena Mwaura, an academic at Kenya's Kenyatta University, told the BBC that Roman Africa was very multicultural, with local Berber and Punic groups, freed slaves and people who had come from Rome found there.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2025
As the home of ancient Carthage and its Punic culture, and as a major Roman colony that helped provide the empire with food, Tunisia is awash with classical-era sites and archaeological remains.
From Reuters • Sep. 5, 2023
“Do you want to read?” one of the third graders, Parker, asked his partner after the lesson on the Punic Wars.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 9, 2023
“Vitellius, Caesar was hundreds of years after the Punic Wars. You couldn’t have been alive that long.”
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
