noun
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a penalty or sanction given for any crime or offence
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the act of punishing or state of being punished
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informal rough treatment
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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
Etymology
Origin of punishment
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English punysshement, from Anglo-French punisement, Old French punissement; equivalent to punish + -ment
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.
‘If it happens again, she faces punishment like everyone else.’
From Literature
I shoved my phone in between the couch cushions as punishment.
From Literature
But Infantino has recently said the punishment has not worked, and that he wants it lifted.
From BBC
Washington has used a carrot-and-stick approach with Rodriguez, praising her for welcoming US oil companies but at the same time threatening Venezuela with punishment if she does not cooperate.
From Barron's
“No amount of intimidation or punishment from the Department of War will change our position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. We will challenge any supply chain risk designation in court.”
From Barron's
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.
