punished

past tense of punish

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of punished Even though the president nominates agency leaders, those commissioners are confirmed by the Senate and must not be unfairly punished for exercising independent judgment, Potter said. Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 29 June 2026 Months later, Brian Cox told The Hollywood Reporter in December 2024 that Spacey had been punished enough. Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 29 June 2026 Other messages described starvation, brutal military drills, constant drone attacks and recruits being punished for not understanding Russian commands. Max Saltman, CNN Money, 28 June 2026 Patients shouldn’t be punished for accepting help to afford the medications that keep them healthy. Karen Arace, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2026 While teams often jump the gun, the Heat likely avoid being tagged as a repeat offense, having been punished by the league for such early contact with Kyle Lowry during 2021 free agency. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 26 June 2026 Anthropic wants firms like Alibaba punished Alibaba is already preparing to clash with Trump, though. Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 25 June 2026 Though initially pursued by the Furies, Orestes was not ultimately punished for his crime. Zehra Jumabhoy, Artforum, 25 June 2026 But Robinson was drafted by them, and teams should not be punished for drafting well. Zach Harper, New York Times, 25 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punished
Verb
  • Market sentiment has penalized legacy automakers for slowing EV adoption, but these weren't profitable anyway.
    Michael Khouw, CNBC, 22 June 2026
  • The fight was stopped between rounds, but fighters shouldn't be shamed or penalized for knowing when to bow out.
    Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026
Verb
  • Abdennebi Bioui, a construction tycoon and former lawmaker with the co-governing Authenticity and Modernity Party, or PAM, who headed a Regional Council, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $15,989.
    ABC News, ABC News, 26 June 2026
  • In Florida, you can be fined for putting garbage in the wrong place.
    Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 26 June 2026
Verb
  • She was ultimately sentenced to life in prison with an eligibility for parole after 15 years served.
    Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 24 June 2026
  • Benjamin Song, who shot an Alvarado Police Department officer in the neck during the July 4 incident at Prairieland Detention Center outside the Dallas-Fort Worth area, was sentenced to a century behind bars, according to court documents reviewed by USA TODAY.
    Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 24 June 2026
Verb
  • Guo was convicted of nine of 12 criminal charges during a seven-week trial that prosecutors said showcased his deception of thousands of investors in bogus deals that enabled Guo’s lavish lifestyle.
    CNN Money, CNN Money, 30 June 2026
  • Silva was not eligible for the loans because he had previously been convicted of a felony, prosecutors said in the criminal complaint.
    Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 30 June 2026
Verb
  • The program posed a massive political problem for Mamdani, who’s been criticized by both his allies and opponents for his stance.
    Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 30 June 2026
  • While state studies have criticized the state’s education governance model, voters have rejected at least four attempts dating back to 1928 to reform the position.
    Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 30 June 2026
Verb
  • As these generative tools take over more of the mechanical and even analytical work, the humans working alongside them have to be disciplined to catch errors, ask the right questions and push back when something is off.
    Shaz Khan, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
  • In this way, nature and society could each be perfectly disciplined, guided by human intervention toward near-unimaginable efficiency.
    The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 25 June 2026
Verb
  • On Thursday, Vance chastised Israeli officials who were publicly criticizing the agreement.
    Quinn Scanlan, ABC News, 21 June 2026
  • An April 1959 editorial in The Times chastised residents who implied the Friends were trying to enrich themselves.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
Verb
  • After his own vision was corrected as a child, an encounter with a child his age in Cairo — living a starkly different life — sparked a lifelong mission to help others see.
    Ashoka, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • By the time the boundary issues were partially corrected in the 1960s, both the cemetery and the surrounding Black community had been largely erased from public memory.
    Kamal Morgan. Produced with AI assistance, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Punished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punished. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.

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