punish
to subject to pain, loss, confinement, death, etc., as a penalty for some offense, transgression, or fault: The goal of the court is to punish the criminal for the crime he has committed.
to inflict a penalty for (an offense, fault, etc.): Unconditional imprisonment is imposed to punish past transgressions.
to mistreat, abuse, or hurt:Additional tariffs will punish working families with higher prices on household basics.
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.
to inflict punishment.
Origin of punish
1synonym study For punish
Other words for punish
Opposites for punish
Other words from punish
- 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
- self-pun·ished, adjective
- un·pun·ished, adjective
- well-pun·ished, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for punish
/ (ˈpʌnɪʃ) /
to force (someone) to undergo a penalty or sanction, such as imprisonment, fines, death, etc, for some crime or misdemeanour
(tr) to inflict punishment for (some crime, etc)
(tr) to use or treat harshly or roughly, esp as by overexertion: to punish a horse
(tr) informal to consume (some commodity) in large quantities: to punish the bottle
Origin of punish
1Derived forms of punish
- punisher, noun
- punishing, adjective
- punishingly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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