punitive damages

American

plural noun

Law.

damages awarded to a plaintiff in excess of compensatory damages in order to punish the defendant for a reckless or willful act.

Etymology

Origin of punitive damages

First recorded in 1970–75

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.

See Examples For:

punitive damages

But the court reduced the $45.2 million in punitive damages awarded by a jury to $1.5 million, citing limits under Texas law.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

Compensation for physical injury is excluded from gross income, but punitive damages and any interest earned are taxable.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

Financial firms are seeking to curb punitive damages and route complex cases to other arbitration forums, which would require SEC approval.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

Panish on Tuesday had asked for $20 million from Grossman and $1 million from Erickson in punitive damages.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

A court subsequently awarded them nearly a million dollars in compensatory and punitive damages.

From Wild Justice by Ruth M. Sprague

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023