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punish

verb
pun·​ish | \ ˈpÉ™-nish How to pronounce punish (audio) \
punished; punishing; punishes

Definition of punish

transitive verb

1a : to impose a penalty on for a fault, offense, or violation
b : to inflict a penalty for the commission of (an offense) in retribution or retaliation
2a : to deal with roughly or harshly
b : to inflict injury on : hurt

intransitive verb

: to inflict punishment
Other Words from punish Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Example Sentences Learn More about punish

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Other Words from punish

punishability \ ËŒpÉ™-​nish-​É™-​ˈbi-​lÉ™-​tÄ“ How to pronounce punishability (audio) \ noun
punishable \ ˈpÉ™-​nish-​É™-​bÉ™l How to pronounce punishable (audio) \ adjective
punisher noun

Synonyms & Antonyms for punish

Synonyms

castigate, chasten, chastise, correct, discipline, penalize

Antonyms

excuse, pardon, spare

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Choose the Right Synonym for punish

punish, chastise, castigate, chasten, discipline, correct mean to inflict a penalty on in requital for wrongdoing. punish implies subjecting to a penalty for wrongdoing. punished for stealing chastise may apply to either the infliction of corporal punishment or to verbal censure or denunciation. chastised his son for neglecting his studies castigate usually implies a severe, typically public censure. an editorial castigating the entire city council chasten suggests any affliction or trial that leaves one humbled or subdued. chastened by a landslide election defeat discipline implies a punishing or chastening in order to bring under control. parents must discipline their children correct implies punishing aimed at reforming an offender. the function of prison is to correct the wrongdoer

punish and discipline mean to put a penalty on someone for doing wrong. punish means giving some kind of pain or suffering to the wrongdoer often rather than trying to reform the person. The criminals were punished with life imprisonment. discipline is used of punishing the wrongdoer but usually includes an effort to bring the person under control. Parents must discipline their children.

Examples of punish in a Sentence

I think that murderers should be punished by life imprisonment. She was punished for lying. His parents punished him by taking away his allowance. How should I punish my child's misbehavior? State law punishes fraud with fines.
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Recent Examples on the Web

 The bonds are punishing the defendant for the charges and treating the defendant as if he has been proven guilty of the offenses. — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, "Charges against suspect in shooting death of 4-year-old Jurnee Coleman to proceed to grand jury," 3 Sep. 2019 Investors were punishing the film and TV studio and Starz parent by bidding shares down on more than twice the stock's normal trading volume. — Paul Bond, The Hollywood Reporter, "Lionsgate Shares Drop on Rumors Comcast Will Drop Starz," 30 Aug. 2019 Yet there was something of a reality check awaiting the Lionesses squad in the Belgian city of Leuven on Thursday evening, with sloppy defending firmly punished. — SI.com, "England Women Draw 3-3 With Belgium in Post-World Cup Reality Check," 29 Aug. 2019 Late last year 14 officials running the Welfare Lottery were punished for corruption. — The Economist, "The Chinese state manages the world’s second-biggest lottery industry," 29 Aug. 2019 Hubris is certainly punished, in the person of Shaw, but reasonableness is also defended, in the person of Roy Scheider, and reinforced in the intellect of Richard Dreyfuss’s character. — Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, "The Summer of Shark Politics on Cape Cod," 22 Aug. 2019 In graphics, however, Ice Lake’s Iris Plus graphics punished the far slower Whiskey Lake. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Intel announces Comet Lake, a faster, 10th-gen Whiskey Lake chip for mainstream laptops," 21 Aug. 2019 Some Mexican Americans were punished for speaking the language in any form. — Elaine Ayala, ExpressNews.com, "Lack of Spanish fluency should never be a source of shame for Hispanics," 1 Aug. 2019 But definitely, poor shots are going to get punished. — Doug Ferguson, baltimoresun.com, "Defending British Open champ Francesco Molinari returns claret jug, faces long odds getting it back," 16 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'punish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of punish

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

History and Etymology for punish

Middle English punisshen, from Anglo-French puniss-, stem of punir, from Latin punire, from poena penalty — more at pain

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More Definitions for punish

punish

verb
How to pronounce punish (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of punish

: to make (someone) suffer for a crime or for bad behavior
: to make someone suffer for (a crime or bad behavior)
: to treat (someone or something) severely or roughly

See the full definition for punish in the English Language Learners Dictionary

punish

verb
pun·​ish | \ ˈpÉ™-nish How to pronounce punish (audio) \
punished; punishing

Kids Definition of punish

1 : to make suffer for a fault or crime The child was punished for lying.
2 : to make someone suffer for (as a crime) The law punishes theft.

punish

transitive verb
pun·​ish

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