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
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
Rather than punishing Li — as some initial speculation suggested — Beijing formalized his role last week as top trade negotiator.
—
J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 26 Oct. 2025
We were punished for that today, and that’s still a work in progress.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
And that should mean better odds of flagging fraud and punishing the bad actors, which theoretically should deter cheating – but at this point, that’s just trying to contain a problem that can’t be stopped.
—Mirjam Swanson, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
Pickens' antics were on full display in Dallas’ 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders last week, and the NFL has punished him accordingly.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for punish
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 26 Oct. 2025
We were punished for that today, and that’s still a work in progress.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
And that should mean better odds of flagging fraud and punishing the bad actors, which theoretically should deter cheating – but at this point, that’s just trying to contain a problem that can’t be stopped.
—Mirjam Swanson, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
Pickens' antics were on full display in Dallas’ 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders last week, and the NFL has punished him accordingly.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for punish
Cite this Entry
“Punish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punish. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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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