punishment

[puhn-ish-muhnt]

noun

1. the act of punishing. punishing.

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

3. a penalty inflicted for an offense, fault, etc.

4. severe handling or treatment.

punishment

/ ˈpʌnɪʃmənt /

noun

1. a penalty or sanction given for any crime or offence

2. the act of punishing or state of being punished

3. informal,  rough treatment

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

Other Word Forms

• nonpunishment noun
• overpunishment noun
• prepunishment noun
• propunishment adjective
• repunishment noun
• self-punishment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of punishment¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English punysshement, from Anglo-French punisement, Old French punissement; equivalent to punish + -ment

Idioms and Phrases

see glutton for punishment.

Example Sentences

It was the first full quarter Wells was free from the asset cap that the Federal Reserve put in place in 2018 as a punishment for its fake-account scandal.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Experts said many of them try to play down their role to avoid punishment.

Read more on Barron's

Six is a perfect number, and seven is a prime number, but only a glutton for punishment would put them together in front of a bunch of 13-year-olds.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But even when an individual is not convicted, the process of defending against charges can itself be a form of punishment, as renowned legal scholar Malcolm Feeley pointed out almost 50 years ago.

Read more on Salon

He also remembers seeing public executions at Kabul's Ghazi Stadium, originally built for sport and public events, which the Taliban frequently used for punishments and executions.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• abuse 
• beating 
• discipline 
• forfeiture 
• retribution 
• sanction 
• suffering 
• torture 
• trial