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Definition of punishment
1 : the act of punishing
2a : suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retributionb : a penalty inflicted on an offender through judicial procedure
3 : severe, rough, or disastrous treatment
Explore Merriam-Webster
Examples of punishment in a Sentence
I took away my daughter's car keys as a punishment for her bad behavior.
The punishments that the government has inflicted on the protesters are severe and unjust.
The punishment for murder is life imprisonment.
Some religions teach that wicked people will suffer eternal punishment in hell after they die.
Recent Examples of punishment from the Web
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Because defunding Planned Parenthood, enforcing hundreds of anti-abortion restrictions across the country in recent years, and enduring increasing harassment at clinics isn’t punishment enough.
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But Kinner appealed her punishment, claiming the judge did not adequately consider her childhood and Young's abusive nature.
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But Trump is weighing whether to impose secondary sanctions against businesses that work alongside such entities -- a punishment that would primarily target Chinese firms.
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Nine months of unwanted pain and possibly death is not an acceptable punishment for being unlucky while engaging in an almost universally practiced past time.
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The SEC and NCAA did not assess any additional punishment.
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If troops are left to be prosecuted by the civilian legal system, the punishment can vary widely, Barthel said.
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More recently, Wray represented Christie during the criminal investigation of a partisan plot to create crippling traffic near the George Washington Bridge as punishment for a local mayor who wouldn’t support the governor’s 2013 re-election.
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Lee’s cruelty as a slavemaster was not confined to physical punishment.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'punishment'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of punishment
15th century
PUNISHMENT Defined for English Language Learners
punishment
playDefinition of punishment for English Language Learners
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: the act of punishing someone or a way of punishing someone
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: the state of being punished
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: rough physical treatment
PUNISHMENT Defined for Kids
punishment
playDefinition of punishment for Students
1 : the act of making a wrongdoer suffer : the state of being made to suffer for wrongdoing
2 : the penalty for a wrong or crime
Word Root of punishment
The Latin word poena, meaning “punishment,” gives us the root pen or pun. Words from the Latin poena have something to do with punishments. A penalty is a punishment for doing something wrong. Anything penal, such as a group of laws, explains punishments for specific crimes. Punish and punishment also come from poena.
Law Dictionary
punishment
Legal Definition of punishment
1 : the act of punishing
2 : a penalty (as a fine or imprisonment) inflicted on an offender through the judicial and especially criminal process — see also cruel and unusual punishment
Learn More about punishment
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for punishment Spanish Central: Translation of punishment Nglish: Translation of punishment for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of punishment for Arabic speakers
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