penalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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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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penalizableadjective
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repenalizeverb (used with object)
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overpenalizeverb (used with object)
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nonpenalizedadjective
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penalizationnoun
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overpenalizationnoun
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unpenalizedadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have penalizedperfect
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has penalizedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been penalizingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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penalizessingular 3rd person
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is penalizingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am penalizingprogressive 1st person singular
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penalizingparticiple
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have been penalizingperfect progressive
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are penalizingprogressive
Past
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had penalizedperfect
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penalizedsimple
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had been penalizingperfect progressive
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was penalizingprogressive singular
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penalizedparticiple
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were penalizingprogressive plural
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.
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
“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
Yet when adults drop out of the workforce to have babies, or future workers, we penalize them by refusing to credit those years toward their own Social Security payments.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026
Corporate boards routinely face judgment calls about the extent to reward or penalize executives for unforeseen events, said Douglas Chia, a corporate-governance consultant and president of Soundboard Governance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026
“I own the original patent for making patent leather, ” Fletcher said in a patent lie. penalize.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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.
