punishment

[ puhn-ish-muhnt ]

/ ˈpʌn ɪʃ mənt /

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See synonyms for: punishment / punishments on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act of punishing.

the fact of being punished, as for an offense or fault.

a penalty inflicted for an offense, fault, etc.

severe handling or treatment.

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of punishment

1250–1300; Middle English punysshement<Anglo-French punisement,Old French punissement.See punish, -ment

OTHER WORDS FROM punishment

non·pun·ish·ment, nouno·ver·pun·ish·ment, nounpre·pun·ish·ment, nounpro·pun·ish·ment, adjective

re·pun·ish·ment, nounself-pun·ish·ment, noun

Words nearby punishment

Punic Wars, punish, punishable, punisher, punishing, punishment, punition, punitive, punitive damages, Punjab, Punjabi

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use punishment in a sentence

Me being a goofball got me out of being on punishment with my mom.
Sitcom Queen Tichina Arnold Got Funny to Avoid Spankings|Pallabi Munsi|September 10, 2020|Ozy
If indeed Barrios earned a percentage of the company’s profits, or continues to, and did not disclose it when he worked for Gómez, he could be open to additional punishment.
Barrios Didn’t Disclose Income He Made Before Taking City Hall Job|Andrew Keatts and Jesse Marx|August 31, 2020|Voice of San Diego
In accepting Giannulli’s plea deal, Gorton said the prison terms are “sufficient but not greater than necessary punishment under the circumstances.”
Lori Loughlin gets two months in prison after judge accepts plea deal in college bribery scandal|radmarya|August 21, 2020|Fortune
The approach could only have led to punishment of outstanding outliers in favor of a consistent average.
The UK exam debacle reminds us that algorithms can’t fix broken systems|Karen Hao|August 20, 2020|MIT Technology Review

Ostensibly, they were added as punishment for facilitating shocking human rights abuses against Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang.
Covid-19 and the geopolitics of American decline|Katie McLean|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
In an act of corporal punishment that we at the Daily Beast do not condone, Joseph grabbed Him by the ear and “pulled hard.”
Was Baby Jesus A Holy Terror?|Candida Moss|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When Christians and Hindus are accused of insulting Islam in Pakistan, the punishment is harsh.
Disco Mullah Blasphemy Row Highlights Pakistan’s Hypocrisy|Shaheen Pasha|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Though, some would still indulge, even with the risk of punishment.
Beaten By His Church for Being Gay|Justin Jones|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the 1980s, your community allowed hundreds of thousands of us to die because you believed AIDS was divine punishment.
Do LGBTs Owe Christians an Olive Branch? Try The Other Way Around|Jay Michaelson|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By the end of his life, the memories of corporal punishment at the hands of his teachers were vivid.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The fact that the day following the punishment parade was a Sunday brought about a certain relaxation from discipline.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
These evidences of an impulse to look on correction as a quite proper thing are corroborated by stories of self-punishment.
Children's Ways|James Sully
But once Austria was disposed of, Prussia and Russia met their punishment for having given her secret or open aid.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
Punishment still comes to us from those whom we would circumvent.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
It was he who deserved punishment—not the sufferer with his calamities imposed upon him by his erring sire.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various

British Dictionary definitions for punishment

punishment

/ (ˈpʌnɪʃmənt) /

noun

a penalty or sanction given for any crime or offence

the act of punishing or state of being punished

informal rough treatment

psychol any aversive stimulus administered to an organism as part of training

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with punishment

punishment

see glutton for punishment.

punishment

Origin of punishment

OTHER WORDS FROM punishment

Words nearby punishment

Words related to punishment

How to use punishment in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for punishment

Other Idioms and Phrases with punishment