as in to penalize
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime
the child was punished for breaking dishes on purpose if caught, the thief will be severely punished
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Recent Examples of punish
That, to me, solidified that there was a desire to punish her.
—
Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 9 July 2025
Advertisement Critics of the effort to narrow eligibility, however, say the impact of the changes could be widespread, punishing borrowers for legal actions.
—Solcyré Burga, Time, 9 July 2025
Instead of being punished for keeping coal unburned, these communities can be rewarded and reinvested in jobs, renewables, and resilience.
—Michael Sheldrick, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
At the end of Season 2, In-ho so graciously betrays everybody and eventually sneaks away from the pack, fakes his own death of the walkie talkie, and then puts his mask back on and punishes Gi-hun for causing this whole revolt and shoots and kills his best friend right in front of him.
—Jim Halterman, Variety, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for punish
Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 9 July 2025
Advertisement Critics of the effort to narrow eligibility, however, say the impact of the changes could be widespread, punishing borrowers for legal actions.
—Solcyré Burga, Time, 9 July 2025
Instead of being punished for keeping coal unburned, these communities can be rewarded and reinvested in jobs, renewables, and resilience.
—Michael Sheldrick, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
At the end of Season 2, In-ho so graciously betrays everybody and eventually sneaks away from the pack, fakes his own death of the walkie talkie, and then puts his mask back on and punishes Gi-hun for causing this whole revolt and shoots and kills his best friend right in front of him.
—Jim Halterman, Variety, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for punish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punish
Verb
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Otherwise, the training algorithm penalizes the student, discouraging it from producing similar outputs.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
7 July 2025
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This is no fault of the seller, and they should not be penalized for it.—
Richard Parker,
Forbes.com,
6 July 2025
Verb
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Bouchard found Bader guilty and fined him $100 for each littering charge, short of the $150 max for a minor misdemeanor in Ohio, along with court costs that should add up to roughly $700 total.—
David Ferrara,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
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The company was fined $1 million, given five years of probation and required to develop a wildlife compliance plan.—
Kylie Williams,
Miami Herald,
29 June 2025
Verb
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Political dynamics: DeSantis criticized the Florida House for delaying condo relief legislation, while House Speaker Daniel Perez defended the decision to address the issue during the regular session, highlighting the collaborative effort between the House and Senate.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
9 July 2025
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The feud between the two was reignited after Musk criticized Trump’s big legislative package of tax reductions and Medicaid cuts, which passed Congress last week.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Trump touted the military in a speech reiterating their successes, including during the June 22 Iranian bombing mission, and chastising the last administration.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 July 2025
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In her statement, Roberts chastised all the councilors for failing to act.—
Jordan Smith,
IndyStar,
4 July 2025
Verb
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Fernandes Anderson is set to be sentenced in federal court on July 29.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
4 July 2025
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Misty Noel, wife of former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel, has been sentenced after agreeing to plead guilty to multiple counts of felony theft and tax evasion.—
Ray Padilla,
The Courier-Journal,
4 July 2025
Verb
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The facilities are where people charged with a crime await trial and people convicted of minor offenses serve short sentences.—
Jimmy Jenkins,
AZCentral.com,
11 July 2025
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The June 22, 2024 incident outside the Montgomery Inn Boathouse already has led to Raleigh’s son, Kyle, being convicted of assault charges.—
Kevin Grasha,
The Enquirer,
11 July 2025
Verb
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Success depends on cross-functional ownership, disciplined change management and a commitment to data consistency across partners.—
Jim Bureau,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
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Neither of the officers involved has been disciplined or removed from patrol as the investigation into Sheldon Ennis’ June 26 death continues, officials said.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
6 July 2025
Verb
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Rework alone—correcting things that have simply been done wrong—accounts for 12% of the cost of projects, on average.—
Kathleen Kewley,
Forbes.com,
4 July 2025
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While some corrected her that the event is next week on July 13th, many others took it as a tease that she will be involved in the show.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Punish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punish. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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