How to Use punitive in a Sentence

punitive

adjective
  • Lobbyists complain that the bill would impose punitive taxes on the industry.
  • The federal government will take punitive action against the company that polluted the river.
  • The fall from third to fourth isn't too punitive - the fourth-worst record has a 48.1% shot at a top four pick.
    Rahat Huq, Chron, 7 Feb. 2022
  • That may take some of the punitive bite from the Western sanctions.
    Allison Morrow, CNN, 2 Mar. 2022
  • To put an end to the punitive drills, the teen had to do one thing: eat a pepperoni pizza.
    Washington Post, 3 Jan. 2022
  • The failure-to-pay penalty is less punitive than the one for failing to file.
    Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2022
  • But the program isn't punitive, and these case managers aren't there to remove a child.
    Holly V. Hays, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Apr. 2021
  • But the punitive award wasn’t the highest Bellis could have imposed.
    Laurel Calkins, Fortune, 10 Nov. 2022
  • Newsom’s order opened the door for more punitive actions across the state.
    Deyanira Nevárez Martínez, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2024
  • Just in time for the 2025 prep races, Churchill Downs instituted a punitive tweak to the point system.
    Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Extreme punitive measures The hijab has long been a point of contention in Iran.
    Celine Alkhaldi, CNN, 2 Aug. 2023
  • This drama could hardly have played out in a worse place; the city has endured some of the world's most punitive lockdowns.
    Stephen Collinson, CNN, 11 Jan. 2022
  • The penalty for moving the Spurs would be punitive, according to the agreement.
    Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, 21 June 2021
  • The process is not punitive and not designed to shame those facing a criminal charge.
    Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 2 Jan. 2025
  • Barring you from the house is a serious case of punitive excess.
    Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2023
  • But punitive measures hardly seem to have slowed their roll.
    Adriana Lee, WWD, 4 Nov. 2024
  • One justice, Mike Bolin, urged the Legislature to make the law more punitive.
    al, 12 Jan. 2022
  • The jurors never discussed the punitive award, so Svitenko does not know what that verdict would have been.
    Gene Maddaus, Variety, 5 Feb. 2025
  • The civil suit is asking for $100 million in damages and a punitive award of up to $1 billion.
    NBC News, 1 June 2021
  • In a punitive culture, teams walk on eggshells to avoid making mistakes.
    John Hall, Forbes, 6 June 2021
  • In the Senate, the punitive measure has been used more sparingly.
    Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Whether his actions will in some way quell the calls for punitive action to be taken against him is unclear.
    Peter Marks, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Apr. 2021
  • In Georgia, 75% of proceeds from punitive damage verdicts go to the state.
    Robert Burnson, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Aug. 2022
  • Wall Street had been on edge, looking for any sign that Trump might shift his approach to his punitive tariffs.
    John Towfighi, David Goldman and Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2025
  • None of the officers were removed from their jobs, and the reprimands were non-punitive, the spokesperson said.
    Andrew Dyer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2022
  • This was just the latest of a series of punitive measures meant to discourage refugees.
    Ursula Lindsey, The New York Review of Books, 6 July 2022
  • The court struck down Jim Crow laws, expanded the franchise, and erected guardrails to constrain the punitive machinery of the state.
    Ian MacDougall, Harper’s Magazine , 28 Sep. 2022
  • Her punitive response to the breakup is a different story, though, and strikes me as the cherry on the Jack’s-good-judgment sundae.
    Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 28 June 2023
  • The 7th Circuit sent the case back to the trial court to determine whether the ordinance is also punitive.
    Bruce Vielmetti, Journal Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2022
  • Many women left the punitive existence of domestic servitude and escaped to the booming city by the sea.
    Claire Hoffman, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'punitive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: