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punish

[puhn-ish]

verb (used with object)

to subject to pain, loss, confinement, death, etc., as a penalty for some offense, transgression, or fault: to punish a criminal.

to inflict a penalty for (an offense, fault, etc.): to punish theft.

to handle severely or roughly, as in a fight.

to put to painful exertion, as a horse in racing.

Informal. to make a heavy inroad on; deplete: to punish a quart of whiskey.

verb (used without object)

to inflict punishment.

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Punish is one of our favorite verbs.

So is lollygag. Does it mean:

to run away hurriedly; flee.

to spend time idly; loaf.

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Origin:
1300–50; Middle English punischen < Middle French puniss-, long stem of punir < Latin pūnīre; akin to poena penalty, pain

Related forms

pun·ish·er, noun

o·ver·pun·ish, verb

pre·pun·ish, verb (used with object)

qua·si-pun·ished, adjective

re·pun·ish, verb

EXPAND

self-pun·ished, adjective

self-pun·ish·er, noun

un·pun·ished, adjective

well-pun·ished, adjective

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. chastise, castigate. Punish, correct, discipline refer to making evident public or private disapproval of violations of law, wrongdoing, or refusal to obey rules or regulations by imposing penalties. To punish is chiefly to inflict penalty or pain as a retribution for misdeeds, with little or no expectation of correction or improvement: to punish a thief. To correct is to reprove or inflict punishment for faults, specifically with the idea of bringing about improvement: to correct a rebellious child. To discipline is to give a kind of punishment that will educate or will establish useful habits: to discipline a careless driver. 1, 2. penalize.

Antonyms
1, 2. reward.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To punish

Example Sentences

Punish the wrongdoers, force them to change, or close their doors.

It creates a theoretical accountability that could help punish perpetrators.

Some of these battles were purely exhibits of supremacy or to punish recalcitrant local leaders.

EXPAND

Punish the wrongdoers, force them to change, or close their doors.

It creates a theoretical accountability that could help punish perpetrators.

Some of these battles were purely exhibits of supremacy or to punish recalcitrant local leaders.

Free will is simply an effective toolto punish people for rule breaking.

The remote islands were considered to be a suitable place to punish the rebels.

The stock market will punish manipulators and excessive granters.

It doesn't make a lot of sense to punish you for it.

The great danger is that they will seek a way to punish it, as destructive for everybody as that might be.

Her parents encourage her independence but worry that school and the workplace will punish her for it.

Spanking must be done to punish the child and for the wrong done by him despite verbal admonishing.

We shouldn't punish scientists for not doing the impossible.

To really punish us effectively, you need to find a way to really get into our heads and aim straight for our geeky psyches.

Cultivate your awareness, expand your center, and you won't have to punish yourself.

If the intention was to punish speculators, there is also cause for concern.

If a mess has been made, it is useless to punish him.

We as citizen's punish politicians who look more than a few years down the road and present a plan.

Ted says that he's not out to punish venture capitalists.

As stated above, they administrators only have to isolate and punish one faculty member and the rest shut up.

It will not be able to intervene unless it is clear that national authorities cannot, or will not, punish alleged wrongdoers.

What the legislation should be is designed to punish them and them only.

We must punish them: since they alone are accountable for the damages already done.

The administration has repeatedly vowed to punish any foreign government found to have involvement in the attacks.

If you remove the benefit, and you punish it, you will have fewer problems.

European leaders, too, have talked of trade sanctions to punish the laggards in the fight against global warming.

In fact, studies demonstrate that women tend to reward unethical behavior and punish ethical behavior.

But the only solutions that appear to be available would punish students.

It lay also in the failure to punish any of the culprits.

Most advocates believe that it is inhumane to punish individuals who did not adequately grasp what they were doing.

There are some significant weaknesses with this system which would unfairly punish some schools and promote other schools.

Just punish the polluters and make them stop putting so much crap into our oceans and atmosphere.

And no countries sufficiently punish people who kill tigers or illegally traffic in their skins or body parts.

Regulators cannot agree on how much to punish banks as well as exactly who should benefit from a settlement.

Progress requirement designed to punish delinquent students causes headaches for.

Another axiom is that voters punish governments that impose tough austerity programmes.

Or he might kill them all, to make an example of them or to punish them for going to the police".

People punish one another for stinginess more than they reward for generosity.

Try to move them and they'll punish you by not flowering for several years.

Sufficient laws are in place to punish those who violate copyright law, he said.

To prevent future crises, governments must learn to let markets punish excessive risk-taking.

If they did punish it, it would not be this frequent.

Kremlin-sponsored youth thugs had called him a traitor and pledged to punish him.

In experiments, humans will generally reject or punish a partner who offers noticeably less than.

The bill would also punish companies that are careless with customers' information.

Too often what we've been doing is using these tests to punish students or to, in some cases, punish schools.

Frederick because they fear schools will punish students who talk about their religious.

Baylor has announced that it will consider whether to punish the professor.

Only their home states have the authority to try and punish them.

And no matter how badly you want to punish people, society loses in the end.

In addition, it's uncomfortable to punish spammers more severely than criminals who do physical harm to people.

He has to weigh whether and how severely to punish bishops who failed to act to deal with abuses in their domains.

But some have concerns that it could be used to punish or torture suspects rather than control them.

Sanctions meant to punish rulers also punish the people, too.

They are not allowed to punish strikers-by sacking them, for example.

Punitive damages are the amount a jury awards to punish conduct of an offender.

They also reacted differently when given a chance, in variations of the game, to punish another player for hogging the prize.

But the government is increasingly trying to punish individuals for the actions of their firms.

The only way to prevent piracy is to punish legitimate customers after it already.

Punish juveniles for all offenses, even minor ones, so children learn early that crime doesn't pay.

And you let them punish themselves if they've been talking about the student.

Now they are rushing out measure after measure to punish the survivors, accompanied by increasingly fiery rhetoric.

The government might also explore ways to reward good security practices and punish poor ones through.

Further, these are also societies which dictate and often punish women for violating dress codes and prescribed social behavior.

In this case, it seems unfair to punish them for something they did not consent to doing.

The other tactic is to punish athletes for misbehaving.

So it is proposed to punish net radio with unique and exorbitantly high royalties.

They can't give raises or any sort of extras to good performers, and there is also little to withhold to punish poor performers.

Efforts are also being stepped up to punish companies that pay bribes.

We also wanted to punish his or her parents by giving the guilty child a shot of espresso and a puppy.

Sony needs a system that doesn't punish consumers yet somehow satisfies the entertainment industry.

We don't punish crazy people precisely because they are not free and thereby not morally responsible.

It also means it is hard to punish countries that run slack fiscal policies.

Governments throughout the region have been loth to punish the perpetrators of honour crimes.

The campaign is unwise because it seeks to punish and stigmatize those with whom the protesters disagree.

They were taught to punish and even kill other children who disobeyed or sought to escape.

If you let the puppy get on the couch sometimes and then you punish him other times for getting on the couch, he will be confused.

When he arrived, he found that a few officers were handcuffing and beating inmates to punish them.

They are apt to punish the messenger, not the miscreants.

China's leaders promise to hunt down and punish hoarders and speculators.

Like a good diet, if you slip up and fail one day, don't punish yourself or set unrealistic expectations for the future.

Voters would thus have been likely to punish her allies harder in the fourth quarter than they will be in the second.

In a good many cases, administrators have also shut down the sales and tried to punish the would-be vendors.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

punish (ˈpʌnɪʃ)

—vb
1.	to force (someone) to undergo a penalty or sanction, such as imprisonment, fines, death, etc, for some crime or misdemeanour
2.	(tr) to inflict punishment for (some crime, etc)
3.	(tr) to use or treat harshly or roughly, esp as by overexertion: to punish a horse
4.	informal (tr) to consume (some commodity) in large quantities: to punish the bottle

[C14 punisse, from Old French punir, from Latin pūnīre to punish, from poena penalty]

'punisher

—n

'punishing

—*adj*

'punishingly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

punish

mid-14c., from O.Fr. puniss-, extended prp. stem of punir "to punish," from L. punire "inflict a penalty on, cause pain for some offense," earlier poenire, from poena "penalty, punishment" (see penal). Colloquial meaning "to inflict heavy damage or loss" is first recorded

EXPAND

1801, originally in boxing. Punishing "hard-hitting" is from 1811.

COLLAPSE

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Matching Quote

"In its function, the power to punish is not essentially different from that of curing or educating."

-Michel Foucault

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