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punish Definition

pun·ish (pun′is̸h)

transitive verb

  1. to cause to undergo pain, loss, or suffering for a crime or wrongdoing
  2. to impose a penalty on a wrongdoer for (an offense)
  3. to treat harshly or injuriously the punishing rays of the sun
  4. Informal to consume or use up

Etymology: ME punischen < extended stem of OFr punir < L punire, to punish < poena, punishment, penalty: see penal

intransitive verb

to deal out punishment

punish Related Forms
pun′·isher noun
punish Synonyms

punish

v.

discipline, correct, chastise, chasten, castigate, penalize, sentence, train, reprove, scold, lecture, fine, incarcerate, imprison, immure, expel, execute, exile, behead, hang, electrocute, dismiss, disbar, disbench, defrock, whip, masthead, keelhaul, smite, spank, paddle, beat, thrash, trounce, flog, birch, switch, cuff, inflict penalty, visit punishment, blacklist, blackball, make an example of, give it to*, come down hard on*, attend to*, crack down on*, make it hot for*, pitch into*, give a dressing-down*, light into*, lick*, bring to book*, teach one a lesson*, lower the boom*, ground*, throw the book at*, give one one's comeuppance*, give what for*, fix*; see also banish 1, beat 2, censure, imprison, kill 1, scold.

punish implies the infliction of some penalty on a wrongdoer and generally connotes retribution rather than correction to punish a murderer by hanging; discipline suggests punishment that is intended to control or to establish habits of self-control to discipline a naughty child; correct suggests punishment for the purpose of overcoming faults to correct unruly pupils; chastise may imply severe rebuke or, more usually, corporal punishment and connotes both retribution and correction; castigate now implies punishment by severe public criticism or censure to castigate a corrupt official; chasten implies the infliction of tribulation in order to make obedient, meek, subdued, etc.""He chastens and hastens His will to make known'', a chastening experience

punish Usage Examples

Object

  • perpetrator: Anger or the desire to punish the perpetrator can be safely directed through the art materials.
  • wrongdoer: I fully accept that this remains to be proved, but the climate is much more inclined to punish wrongdoers.
  • offender: The French government has recently urged the traffic police to use their full powers to punish offenders.
  • spammers: They have become extremely adept at finding out duplicates and hidden texts, detecting and punishing the search engine spammers.
  • sinner: In the past leprosy was said to be sent by the ancestors to punish either individual sinners or members of a sinner's family.
  • sin: Others thought it was God punishing the sins of the city people.

Subject

  • confinement: Opposite the Bluecoat formerly stood a Bridewell or House of Correction where " petty crimes " were punished by confinement and hard labor.
  • imprisonment: This more serious version of GBH may be punished by life imprisonment.

Modifying Another Word

  • harshly: Leaving during a game ( without a good excuse ) Racist comments - Racism will not be tolerated and will be punished harshly.
  • severely: We bowled far too many short balls which were severely punished by quality batsmen.
  • accordingly: It was decided that I was the ringleader and should be punished accordingly.
  • justly: We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.
  • retrospectively: Brian Barwick's hopes of using video evidence to retrospectively punish the divers are rejected by FIFA.
  • collectively: One may ask: " What crime have all these boys and girls perpetrated to be collectively punished by U.S. and British governments?

Present participle complement

  • accord: He who does harm, him I punish according to the damage.

Preposition: in

  • hell: What we all deserve is to be punished in hell.

Preposition: for

  • contempt: The section clearly has a close relationship to the power of a court to punish for contempt.
  • offense: The minimum standard of fairness does not permit a person to be punished twice for the same offense.

Preposition: by

  • confinement: Opposite the Bluecoat formerly stood a Bridewell or House of Correction where " petty crimes " were punished by confinement and hard labor.
  • imprisonment: This more serious version of GBH may be punished by life imprisonment.
punish Quotes

Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful.

—Nietzsche, FriedrichWilhelm

Why should he, with wealth and honour blest, Refuse his age the needful hours of rest? Punish a body which he could not please; Bankrupt of life, yet prodigal of ease? And all to leave what with his toil he won To that unfeathered two-legged thing, a son.

—Dryden,John

He would punish everyone who deserved it: why, he wouldn't have minded being punished himself if he deserved it; but, then, he never did deserve it. 303

—Eliot, George pseudonym of  MaryAnn Evans

Browse dictionary entries near punish

  1. ‹ puniness
  2. ‹ Punic Wars
  3. ‹ Punic
  4. ‹ pungent
  5. ‹ pung
  6. ‹ Pune
  7. ‹ pundit
  8. ‹ punctured
  9. ‹ puncture
  10. ‹ punctulate
  1. punishable ›
  2. punished ›
  3. punishment ›
  4. punitive ›
  5. punitive damages ›
  6. Punjab ›
  7. Punjabi ›
  8. punji ›
  9. punk ›
  10. punk rock ›