[puhn-ish-muhnt] Pronunciation Key | 1. | the act of punishing. |
| 2. | the fact of being punished, as for an offense or fault. |
| 3. | a penalty inflicted for an offense, fault, etc. |
| 4. | severe handling or treatment. |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| pun·ish·ment
(pŭn'ĭsh-mənt) Pronunciation Key
n.
|
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Main Entry: pun·ish·ment
Function: noun
1 : the act of punishing
2 : a penalty (as a fine or imprisonment) inflicted on an offender through the judicial and esp. criminal process —see also CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT
Punishment
Pun"ish*ment\, n. Severe, rough, or disastrous treatment. [Colloq. or Slang]
Punishment
Pun"ish*ment\, n. 1. The act of punishing. 2. Any pain, suffering, or loss inflicted on a person because of a crime or offense. I never gave them condign punishment. --Shak. The rewards and punishments of another life. --Locke. 3. (Law) A penalty inflicted by a court of justice on a convicted offender as a just retribution, and incidentally for the purposes of reformation and prevention.
Punishment
The New Testament lays down the general principles of good government, but contains no code of laws for the punishment of offenders. Punishment proceeds on the principle that there is an eternal distinction between right and wrong, and that this distinction must be maintained for its own sake. It is not primarily intended for the reformation of criminals, nor for the purpose of deterring others from sin. These results may be gained, but crime in itself demands punishment. (See MURDER ØT0002621; THEFT.) Endless, of the impenitent and unbelieving. The rejection of this doctrine "cuts the ground from under the gospel...blots out the attribute of retributive justice; transmutes sin into misfortune instead of guilt; turns all suffering into chastisement; converts the piacular work of Christ into moral influence...The attempt to retain the evangelical theology in connection with it is futile" (Shedd).
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