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
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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. 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

Word History

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of punitive damages was in 1858

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Cite this Entry

“Punitive damages.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punitive%20damages. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

Legal Definition

punitive damages

see damage sense 2

More from Merriam-Webster on punitive damages

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