punish
Americanverb (used with object)
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punishes,
present (3rd person singular)
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punished,
past participle, past
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punishing
present participle
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to subject to pain, loss, confinement, death, etc., as a penalty for some offense, transgression, or fault.
The goal of the court is to punish the criminal for the crime he has committed.
- Synonyms:
- penalize, discipline, castigate, chastise
- Antonyms:
- reward
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to inflict a penalty for (an offense, fault, etc.).
Unconditional imprisonment is imposed to punish past transgressions.
- Synonyms:
- penalize
- Antonyms:
- reward
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to mistreat, abuse, or hurt.
Additional tariffs will punish working families with higher prices on household basics.
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to handle severely or roughly, as in a fight.
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to put to painful exertion, as a horse in racing.
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Informal. to make a heavy inroad on; deplete.
to punish a quart of whiskey.
verb (used without object)
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punishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
punished,
past participle, past
-
punishing
present participle
verb
-
to force (someone) to undergo a penalty or sanction, such as imprisonment, fines, death, etc, for some crime or misdemeanour
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(tr) to inflict punishment for (some crime, etc)
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(tr) to use or treat harshly or roughly, esp as by overexertion
to punish a horse
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informal (tr) to consume (some commodity) in large quantities
to punish the bottle
Synonym Usage
Punish, correct, discipline refer to making evident public or private disapproval of violations of law, wrongdoing, or refusal to obey rules or regulations by imposing penalties. To punish is chiefly to inflict penalty or pain as a retribution for misdeeds, with little or no expectation of correction or improvement: to punish a thief. To correct is to reprove or inflict punishment for faults, specifically with the idea of bringing about improvement: to correct a rebellious child. To discipline is to give a kind of punishment that will educate or will establish useful habits: to discipline a careless driver.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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punishernoun
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overpunishverb
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repunishverb
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prepunishverb (used with object)
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punishingadjective
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quasi-punishedadjective
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self-punishedadjective
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unpunishedadjective
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well-punishedadjective
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punishinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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punishsimple
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punishessimple
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have punishedperfect
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has punishedperfect
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am punishingprogressive
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are punishingprogressive
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is punishingprogressive
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have been punishingperfect progressive
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has been punishingperfect progressive
Past
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punishedsimple
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had punishedperfect
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was punishingprogressive
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were punishingprogressive
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had been punishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of punish
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English punischen, from Middle French puniss-, long stem of punir, from Latin pūnīre; akin to poena penalty, pain
Explanation
To punish is to discipline or penalize someone because they've done something wrong. If you stole the cookie from the cookie jar, someone may have to punish you. Not you? Then who? A judge will often punish a guilty defendant with community service or parole — or sometimes even with time spent in prison, if the crime is serious enough. You probably punish your puppy for chewing your shoes simply with a firm "No!" Sometimes people are punished unfairly, like how higher gas prices punish the people who can already barely afford to drive to their jobs.
Vocabulary lists containing punish
Louder than Hunger
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"Seeking Freedom"
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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:
After all, the market will punish them later for falling short.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which is helping represent Prabhakar, argues that public colleges may establish curriculum requirements but cannot punish professors merely because administrators dislike ideas expressed in relevant course material.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
That could further reward companies already monetizing the historic capital expenditures necessitated by the AI build-out and punish those still burning cash on promises, according to market analysts.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 19, 2026
"The All Blacks are a classy outfit, and they'll punish you if you're not on your A- game, and at times we weren't," admitted Irish skipper Dan Sheehan.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
There is no thundering of hoofbeats, no racing to catch and punish us.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Tencent’s shares have fallen around 30% so far this year as the market punishes Chinese internet names amid uncertainty around AI, he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Immigration attorneys have spoken out against the practice, saying it punishes people who are trying to comply with the rules and turns the justice system into a place of fear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
"It punishes the wrong people and ignores real avoidance," the report stated.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
Depriving prisoners of communication with the outside world also punishes their families.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
Any system that constricts teachers—holds them to small-bore metrics, punishes them for forces outside their control, discourages their creativity and spontaneity, chips away at their humanity—is a bad system.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
"I don't feel like the victims should be punished again just because they can't hold prisoners for their full sentence."
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
In the near term, the market has punished many of these companies for their spending plans.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
And if support ever crosses the line into illegal conduct, it should be aggressively investigated, prosecuted and punished.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Smith said it wasn’t clear whether any of the officers that Flores recorded have been punished.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
No one believed a word the twins said, so they felt no obligation to tell the truth, and they were always being punished, so there was no need to behave themselves in the first place.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Some expressed hope that the latest crypto bear market — which crypto enthusiasts call a “crypto winter” — might finally be drawing to a close after a punishing 10-month stretch.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
That could help restore confidence in Indonesia’s markets and economy after a wave of warnings by credit agencies and index providers sparked a punishing selloff of the country’s assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
It’s the latest effect forecast for what’s expected to be an historically strong event, one forecasters warn could also lash Southern California with powerful rain and broil both land and sea with punishing heat waves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
But volatile pockets of the U.S. stock market saw punishing drops in July.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
“We don’t make a habit of punishing anyone that frail.”
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
