PUNITIVE Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

punitive

adjective

ˈpyü-nə-tiv

Definition of punitive

as in correctional

inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment any misbehavior was immediately met with a punitive response the company had to pay a million dollars in punitive damages

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of punitive The regulations issued in 2024 made many of those changes permanent, and more broadly, pushed clinics and state-level regulators to leave punitive, rigid attitudes in the past. — Lev Facher, STAT, 14 Aug. 2026 At the center lies carceral safety politics—logics that turn fears of violence into justifications for punitive responses. — Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026 The resulting turn toward more punitive security policies makes slower institutional reform harder to sustain. — Robert Muggah, The Conversation, 10 Aug. 2026 The American-Saudi response, punitive in its immediate purpose, must also be understood as an effort to break Iran’s grip on the strait. — Bobby Ghosh, Time, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for punitive

Recent Examples of Synonyms for punitive

Adjective

State police are investigating an incident in a classroom at a youth correctional center where a juvenile was allegedly involved in an altercation with a teacher.

— Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 20 Aug. 2026
By Bay City News An inmate serving a life sentence was convicted of assaulting a correctional officer in 2023 with a homemade dagger at Salinas Valley State Prison, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office said.

— Bay City News, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of correctional

Adjective

It is exacerbated by leaders’ failure to take timely corrective actions.

— Ryan Dewey Smith, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
The state has also taken corrective action on debt and paid down $10 billion in long standing pension debt, which had accumulated for several decades dating back to the 1940’s.

— Kevin McNabola, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026