Definition of penalize
penalized
;penalizing
transitive verb
1 : to inflict a penalty on
2 : to put at a serious disadvantage
From the M-W Editors
Examples of penalize in a Sentence
The company was penalized for not paying taxes.
The hockey player was penalized for holding.
This law would unfairly penalize immigrants.
Recent Examples of penalize from the Web
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The FCC scrutinized Colbert's joke after receiving complaints from viewers but decided not to penalize the CBS host.
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Florida is currently penalized by that rule, after graduate transfers Anthony Harrell and Mason Halter didn't meet the SEC's academic requirements in 2015.
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A left knee injury that has penalized Dwyer two matches appears to be on the mend, if Wednesday’s side session is any indication.
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Naperville schools may no longer be penalized for using federal dollars to hire teachers earmarked for reducing the achievement gap for low-income students.
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There are calls to ramp up deportations beyond Obama-era levels, and to penalize cities, such as Baltimore, that, absent congressional leadership on the immigration system, wish to offer sanctuary to undocumented immigrants.
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San Francisco Giants reliever Hunter Strickland received a six-game suspension Tuesday and Washington’s Bryce Harper was penalized four games for their roles in a benches-clearing brawl a day earlier.
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BASEBRAWL Nationals slugger Bryce Harper and Giants reliever Hunter Strickland are certain to soon get penalized by Major League Baseball after their fight in San Francisco.
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Penalizing an entire team because of one idiotic performance stinks.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'penalize'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
1888
First Known Use of penalize
1888
PENALIZE Defined for English Language Learners
penalize
playDefinition of penalize for English Language Learners
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: to punish (someone or something) for breaking a rule or a law
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: to give (someone) an unfair disadvantage
PENALIZE Defined for Kids
penalize
playDefinition of penalize for Students
penalized
;penalizing
: to give a penalty to You'll be penalized for cheating.
Learn More about penalize
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See words that rhyme with penalize Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for penalize Spanish Central: Translation of penalize Nglish: Translation of penalize for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of penalize for Arabic speakers
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