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 week’s biggest stories Newsom sues Fox News for defamation
The governor’s demand for $787 million in punitive damages places him at the forefront of the political proxy war between Democrats and Republicans over the press.
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Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025
Newsom is asking for $787 million in punitive damages in his lawsuit filed in a court in Delaware, where Fox is incorporated.
—Arkansas Online, 28 June 2025
LaBella is suing for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, and has requested a trial by jury.
—Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 25 June 2025
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.
—CBS News, 24 June 2025
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Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025
Newsom is asking for $787 million in punitive damages in his lawsuit filed in a court in Delaware, where Fox is incorporated.
—Arkansas Online, 28 June 2025
LaBella is suing for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, and has requested a trial by jury.
—Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 25 June 2025
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.
—CBS News, 24 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 9 Jul. 2025.
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