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:
Lenders legally cannot penalize you for paying off your loan early, however.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 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
Most brokers penalize investors who quickly sell SpaceX IPO shares, with penalties ranging from temporary to permanent bans on future IPOs.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
“I think it was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize accurate reporting,” Alfonsi told the New York Times of her firing.
From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2026
I hurry toward the Parker House, hoping I can get downtown and into the kitchen before they notice me missing and penalize me for being late.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
They recently ratcheted up a revenue-based business-and-occupation tax that penalizes growth and profitability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Lockwood hears from parents who wonder if saving for college penalizes them when it comes to financial aid.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026
McKinnon penalizes his fellow drill sergeant by dismissing him from overseeing that unit.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2025
One of the bills, AB1836, prohibits and penalizes the making and distribution of a deceased person’s digital replica without permission from their estate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2024
The professional spirit detects its own violations and penalizes them.
From My Life and Work by Henry Ford
And if wealthy foreigners stick around long enough, they’re penalized for it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The lawsuit claims Meta relied on AI metrics like productivity and token use, which penalized employees who missed work for protected leave.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
On campus, students can get penalized for using it, depending on the school and the professor.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Chiarella takes time between bouts of danger to show affection and intimacy that, in defiance of teen-slasher formula, isn’t immediately penalized with sadism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
The guide notes that agency ratings and funding are tied to whether they are “adopting and implementing effective applicant screening,” a clear signal that agencies may be penalized for not cleaning house.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
“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
In response, the VA’s new rule asserts a blanket policy of considering the condition only as it presents under treatment, basically penalizing veterans like me for doing the work of staying alive.
From Slate ● Feb. 19, 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
This model rewards efficiency and innovation rather than penalizing them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
"Think of penalizing the first honest attempt to understand!"
From The Beauty and the Bolshevist by Alice Duer Miller
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.
