punitive damages
plural noun
: damages awarded in excess of compensation to the plaintiff to punish a defendant for a serious wrong
Examples of punitive damages in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The eight-member jury ordered that man, 69-year-old chiropractor David Walls-Kaufman, to pay $380,000 in punitive damages and $60,000 in compensatory damages to Erin Smith for assaulting her husband, Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
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CBS News, 24 June 2025
Depp won the former couple’s 2022 joint defamation trial with a seven-member jury in Fairfax, Virginia awarding him more than $10 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 23 June 2025
On the third day of trial, June 18, the jury awarded $2 million in compensatory damages to Ross and Taylor, as well as $250,000, the highest amount possible, in punitive damages, their legal counsel said in a news release.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 20 June 2025
Gaw’s suit seeks a declaratory judgment that her employer’s actions violated her rights, back pay and lost employment benefits and compensatory and punitive damages.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2025
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CBS News, 24 June 2025
Depp won the former couple’s 2022 joint defamation trial with a seven-member jury in Fairfax, Virginia awarding him more than $10 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 23 June 2025
On the third day of trial, June 18, the jury awarded $2 million in compensatory damages to Ross and Taylor, as well as $250,000, the highest amount possible, in punitive damages, their legal counsel said in a news release.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 20 June 2025
Gaw’s suit seeks a declaratory judgment that her employer’s actions violated her rights, back pay and lost employment benefits and compensatory and punitive damages.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for punitive damages
Cite this Entry
“Punitive damages.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punitive%20damages. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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