penalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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penalizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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penalized,
past participle, past
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penalizing
present participle
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to subject to a penalty, as a person.
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to declare (an action, deed, etc.) punishable by law or rule.
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to put under a disadvantage or handicap.
verb
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to impose a penalty on (someone), as for breaking a law or rule
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to inflict a handicap or disadvantage on
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sport to award a free stroke, point, or penalty against (a player or team)
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to declare (an act) legally punishable; make subject to a penalty
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overpenalizationnoun
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penalizationnoun
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overpenalizeverb (used with object)
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repenalizeverb (used with object)
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nonpenalizedadjective
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penalizableadjective
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unpenalizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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penalizesimple
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penalizessimple
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have penalizedperfect
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has penalizedperfect
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am penalizingprogressive
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are penalizingprogressive
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is penalizingprogressive
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have been penalizingperfect progressive
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has been penalizingperfect progressive
Past
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penalizedsimple
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had penalizedperfect
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was penalizingprogressive
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were penalizingprogressive
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had been penalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of penalize
Explanation
When you penalize someone, you punish them. A traffic cop will usually penalize a speeder with an expensive ticket. A court might penalize a criminal with fines or time in prison, while a frustrated teacher is more likely to penalize the class clown with detention. Sports referees frequently penalize players by allowing the opposing team an advantage of some sort, like a penalty kick in soccer or a free throw in basketball. Penalize is rooted in penal, or "pertaining to punishment." The Greek root is poine, "penalty, punishment, or blood money."
Vocabulary lists containing penalize
Game Changer
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New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964), List 3
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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:
One investigator told Banyuetan that authorities lack legal grounds to probe or penalize people who merely publish officials’ résumés on social media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Any talk of changing the rules, salary cap or otherwise, to put reins on this kind of success would propagate underperformance and penalize this fascinating culture of constant improvement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Only Charles Schwab won’t penalize traders for selling on the first day, but Schwab clients have to be pretty big players to get any shares.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
Fidelity Brokerage Services—one of the five brokers allocated retail shares of the IPO—will penalize investors who sell their SpaceX stock within 15 calendar days of the stock’s debut, according to the firm’s website External link.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
Hence I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up under the weight.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Lockwood hears from parents who wonder if saving for college penalizes them when it comes to financial aid.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026
“It penalizes the very thing that we want, which is we want more employment.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
McKinnon penalizes his fellow drill sergeant by dismissing him from overseeing that unit.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2025
The California Air Resources Board is scheduled to vote Nov. 8 on amendments to a longstanding carbon-market program that penalizes high-carbon fuel producers, while offering credits to providers of lower-carbon alternatives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2024
The system may perhaps prove commercially remunerative, but it penalizes the producers of the better growths in order to provide a livelihood for the growers of inferior and unmarketable kinds and protracts an abnormal situation.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 "Grasshopper" to "Greek Language" by Various
The fact the central bank is offering a backstop should make the run less likely, and shareholders are penalized, through the penalty rate, if it is used.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Ballmer also could be penalized and Leonard’s contract could be voided.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Cajulis said she is unaware of anyone who has been penalized under the law.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
In 2023, the U.S. penalized Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange which has a business in the U.S., in part for allowing Iranian customers to use the exchange.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Those who protested could be penalized under the 1917 Espionage Act, which made it a crime to interfere with the draft or encourage “disloyal” acts.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Notably, the measures announced stopped short of directly penalizing China, the main buyer of Iranian oil, a move that would have risked stoking tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
“Meta still has the most call optionality, where the market is penalizing them for the spend and not giving them credit for potential revenue from the spend,” he wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
The Justice Department has its own process for investigating and penalizing its lawyers accused of violating ethics, but that is not a substitute for state bar investigations and punishments.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026
The suit claims that about 100 schools are left without these additional resources, penalizing them with larger class sizes and fewer opportunities to meet with teachers, among other drawbacks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026
It looks to be my one chance of getting even with the owner for penalizing me in the matter of baths.
From Europe Revised by Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury) Cobb
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.
