punisher

[ puhn-i-sher ]

/ ˈpʌn ɪ ʃər /

Save This Word!

noun

a person who inflicts a penalty, such as pain, confinement, etc.:If your response is delayed, the dog will link the punishment to the punisher and not to the transgression.

Sports. a person who plays or hits aggressively:The player is destined to be an all-American and an all-around punisher in the league.

a thing that inflicts pain, discomfort, etc.:I ran out of time on the test because of one punisher—a question I should have left for last.

something that deters or dissuades:Any stimulus which makes the behavior it follows more frequent is a reinforcer, even if it is intended as a punisher.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of punisher

punish + -er¹

OTHER WORDS FROM punisher

self-pun·ish·er, noun

Words nearby punisher

pungent, Punic, Punic Wars, punish, punishable, punisher, punishing, punishment, punition, punitive, punitive damages

How to use punisher in a sentence

In his biography of Washington, the president’s step-grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, called Posey an “artiste” who ran his kitchen with “iron discipline,” quick to punish those who disobeyed.
George Washington’s 1795 Thanksgiving celebrated liberty. But the chef behind the feast had none.|Ramin Ganeshram|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
The tax was touted as a way to punish major drugmakers for their role in the opioid epidemic and generate funding for treatment programs.
Patients struggle to access prescription opioids after New York tax drives away suppliers|lbelanger225|November 15, 2020|Fortune
The fundamental feedback loop of politics — parties compete for public support, and if they fail the public, they are electorally punished, and so they change — is broken.
The crisis isn’t too much polarization. It’s too little democracy.|Ezra Klein|November 12, 2020|Vox
Proctorio’s Olsen defends the company as an early-warning system for academic-dishonesty violations, saying it’s up to the instructor to review the flags and punish or respond in an appropriate way.
Cheating-detection companies made millions during the pandemic. Now students are fighting back.|Drew Harwell|November 12, 2020|Washington Post

The pandemic is in a ferocious groove now, punishing the country with record numbers of cases each day and raising the death total to more than 241,000 Americans.
Sports were a distraction from the pandemic. Now they’re being battered by it.|Jerry Brewer|November 12, 2020|Washington Post
Justice always accompanies Him, and is the punisher of those who fall short of the divine law.
Laws|Plato
No I came here to secure thy punishment, but I cannot condescend to become thy punisher.
The Rise of Iskander|Benjamin Disraeli
Be conscience then his punisher, till heaven in mercy gives him penitence, or dooms him in its justice.
The Gamester (1753)|Edward Moore
You swear like a Turk, sir; but, take heed; for our prophet is a severe punisher of promise breakers.
Dryden's Works Vol. 3 (of 18)|John Dryden
He was not only the rewarder of good but the punisher of evil.
Greek Sculpture|Estelle M. Hurll