punish
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
-
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.
-
Informal. to make a heavy inroad on; deplete.
to punish a quart of whiskey.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to force (someone) to undergo a penalty or sanction, such as imprisonment, fines, death, etc, for some crime or misdemeanour
-
(tr) to inflict punishment for (some crime, etc)
-
(tr) to use or treat harshly or roughly, esp as by overexertion
to punish a horse
-
informal (tr) to consume (some commodity) in large quantities
to punish the bottle
Related Words
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
- overpunish verb
- prepunish verb (used with object)
- punisher noun
- punishing adjective
- punishingly adverb
- quasi-punished adjective
- repunish verb
- self-punished adjective
- unpunished adjective
- well-punished adjective
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
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.
An escalation shouldn’t punish the people more than the regime.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
The Catford fighter put that plan into action and started to punish Flores with hooks as she stepped out of the firing line.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
The former set the tone with unflappable correctness while his partner was more aggressive, and quick to punish bowling which began to err in line as the partnership grew.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
His assessment came after he lamented the fact that social media algorithms punish “decency” and reward “flamboyant narcissism and controversy.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
She even wished that her parents would punish her for what she had done.
From "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins
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.
