noun
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a penalty or sanction given for any crime or offence
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the act of punishing or state of being punished
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informal rough treatment
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psychol any aversive stimulus administered to an organism as part of training
Other Word Forms
- nonpunishment noun
- overpunishment noun
- prepunishment noun
- propunishment adjective
- repunishment noun
- self-punishment noun
Etymology
Origin of punishment
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English punysshement, from Anglo-French punisement, Old French punissement; equivalent to punish + -ment
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.
In December 1862 the Confederacy’s president, Jefferson Davis, announced that captured black Union soldiers would be dealt with according to state laws for the punishment of slave insurrections.
The president did not express sympathy for the victims or explain what was sad — the alleged crime itself, or that Mountbatten-Windsor may eventually face prosecution, trial and punishment for what he reportedly did.
From Salon
South Korea has an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment, with the last prisoners executed in 1997.
From Barron's
The 57-year-old representative of Vientiane and medical clinic owner made her name with unusually blunt speeches in which she called on the state to step up anti-corruption efforts and enforce punishments for financial crimes.
From Barron's
His actions fundamentally damaged South Korea's democracy and deserves a harsh punishment, presiding judge Ji Gwi-yeon told the court.
From BBC
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.
