punished; punishing; punishes
1
a
: 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
2
a
: to deal with roughly or harshly
b
: to inflict injury on : hurt
: to inflict punishment
Synonyms
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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Fischer contends that law aimed to punish the destruction of documents.
—
Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
Iran’s leaders have repeatedly vowed to punish Israel for an April 1 strike in Syria that killed several senior Iranian commanders.
—Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Miami was punished for multiple defensive miscues and created few scoring opportunities.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a law dating to 1864 that effectively bans abortions under most circumstances and punishes doctors who provide them.
—Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
But given Walker’s penchant for punishing the Rockies, Lawrence was wise to pitch him ultra-carefully.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2024
In her permanent role, Tang will need to tackle the mandate to expand readership and navigate a punishing overall media landscape.
—Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
Critics argue that raising the retirement age unfairly punishes the poor because the life expectancy of lower-income Americans has risen far less than that of higher-income Americans.
—Karl W. Smith, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
The civilian government sided with the military: At The Hague in 2019, Suu Kyi argued that Myanmar’s armed forces had their own justice system that was capable of punishing those who may have committed crimes.
—Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
Iran’s leaders have repeatedly vowed to punish Israel for an April 1 strike in Syria that killed several senior Iranian commanders.
—Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Miami was punished for multiple defensive miscues and created few scoring opportunities.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a law dating to 1864 that effectively bans abortions under most circumstances and punishes doctors who provide them.
—Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
But given Walker’s penchant for punishing the Rockies, Lawrence was wise to pitch him ultra-carefully.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2024
In her permanent role, Tang will need to tackle the mandate to expand readership and navigate a punishing overall media landscape.
—Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
Critics argue that raising the retirement age unfairly punishes the poor because the life expectancy of lower-income Americans has risen far less than that of higher-income Americans.
—Karl W. Smith, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
The civilian government sided with the military: At The Hague in 2019, Suu Kyi argued that Myanmar’s armed forces had their own justice system that was capable of punishing those who may have committed crimes.
—Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'punish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near punish
Cite this Entry
“Punish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punish. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
punish
transitive verb
pun·ish
ˈpə-nish 
1
: to impose a penalty on for a fault, offense, or violation
2
: to inflict a penalty for the commission of (an offense) in retribution or retaliation or as a deterrent
: to inflict punishment
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