penalize

especially British, pe·nal·ise

[peen-l-ahyz, pen-]

verb (used with object)

penalized, penalizing 

1. to subject to a penalty, as a person.

2. to declare (an action, deed, etc.) punishable by law or rule.

3. to put under a disadvantage or handicap.

penalize

/ ˈpiːnəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to impose a penalty on (someone), as for breaking a law or rule

2. to inflict a handicap or disadvantage on

3. sport to award a free stroke, point, or penalty against (a player or team)

4. to declare (an act) legally punishable; make subject to a penalty

Other Word Forms

• penalizable adjective
• penalization noun
• nonpenalized adjective
• overpenalization noun
• overpenalize verb (used with object)
• repenalize verb (used with object)
• unpenalized adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of penalize¹

First recorded in 1865–70; penal + -ize

Example Sentences

They have been penalized 24 times in the past two games.

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The Dodgers were penalized by having to play these two games against the Reds.

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When self-driving cars violate the rules of the road, law enforcement can’t penalize them the same way that they can humans.

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But those were nothing next to the most wrongheaded move in recent Emmys history: the penalizing charity counter.

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Fred Sutton, with the California Apartment Assn., said he was concerned that, by requiring every room to be at a certain temperature, landlords could be penalized if just one room got too hot.

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Related Words

• castigate 
• chastise 
• discipline 
• fine