as in penalty
suffering, loss, or hardship imposed in response to a crime or offense
he is serving five years in prison as punishment for aggravated assault
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 punishment
On top of her one-year sentence on obscenity charges, Adams was sentenced to six months at a women’s penitentiary—a pair of punishments that allowed authorities to start considering whether to ship her back to Poland upon her release from prison.
—
Kellie B. Gormly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 June 2025
The punishment was the first of its kind and was widely reported in legal circles as a cautionary tale for lawyers about the risk of relying on AI.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 26 June 2025
Well into the 20th century, U.S. prisons served as a channel for innovation around punishment.
—Abigail Glasgow, Time, 25 June 2025
The third is a misdemeanor with a maximum punishment of one year.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for punishment
Kellie B. Gormly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 June 2025
The punishment was the first of its kind and was widely reported in legal circles as a cautionary tale for lawyers about the risk of relying on AI.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 26 June 2025
Well into the 20th century, U.S. prisons served as a channel for innovation around punishment.
—Abigail Glasgow, Time, 25 June 2025
The third is a misdemeanor with a maximum punishment of one year.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for punishment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punishment
Noun
-
Additional penalties could be added per violation if a tenant is older than 65 or is disabled.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 July 2025
-
This transition helped the company avoid a potential IRS audit, preventing costly penalties and giving them peace of mind.—
Loran Armstrong,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
Noun
-
Arriving in 2014 – after earning the wrath of the Egyptian government for covering the Arab Spring as a freelance journalist – one of Greater Cincinnati’s newest immigration detainees has lived in Oregon, Chicago and Cincinnati.—
Patricia Gallagher Newberry,
The Enquirer,
11 July 2025
-
Democrats weren’t the only ones to feel the wrath of Minaj on Tuesday.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
9 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Punishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punishment. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share