punisher

American  

[puhn-i-sher] / ˈpʌn ɪ ʃər /

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• self-punisher noun

Etymology

Origin of punisher

punish ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

On Saturday, the 6-foot, 218-pound punisher totaled 129 rushing yards … before contact.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 5, 2023

We all suddenly knew our great friendly teacher was a punisher.

From Washington Post • Dec. 28, 2022

While not a system punisher by a long shot, it ran at almost 200 frames per second and looked fantastic on the high refresh rate display.

From The Verge • Aug. 18, 2022

Stanton played punisher all weekend at Fenway Park, lifting the Yankees to the top spot in the American League wild-card race with a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox.

From New York Times • Sep. 27, 2021

His energies were not weakened by advancing age, and he was always ready as the advocate of virtue, the champion of the oppressed, and the punisher of vice.

From Handbook of Universal Literature From the Best and Latest Authorities by Botta, Anne C. Lynch