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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Recent Examples of punitive
The answer is not to abandon reform or return to the purely punitive policies of past decades.
—
Keith Wortz, Hartford Courant, 13 Mar. 2026
There’s more work to do on SSI’s punitive asset cap.
—Michael Frerichs, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2026
Since 1999, the organization has worked to educate the public to destigmatize drug addiction and influence drug policy away from punitive criminal justice approaches to those of harm reduction and public health.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
Among the punitive actions to which Venus agreed are a $5,000 fine; $2,188 in case reimbursement costs; and a two-year probation during which there will be twice-a-year inspections by the Department of Health.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punitive
Keith Wortz, Hartford Courant, 13 Mar. 2026
There’s more work to do on SSI’s punitive asset cap.
—Michael Frerichs, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2026
Since 1999, the organization has worked to educate the public to destigmatize drug addiction and influence drug policy away from punitive criminal justice approaches to those of harm reduction and public health.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
Among the punitive actions to which Venus agreed are a $5,000 fine; $2,188 in case reimbursement costs; and a two-year probation during which there will be twice-a-year inspections by the Department of Health.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punitive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punitive
Adjective
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Mari Cazares of Dallas, a former TDCJ correctional officer, booked into the Dallas County Jail.—
Doug Myers,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
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The county should not hire candidates for the sheriff's office or correctional positions if their prior law enforcement experience was obtained at ICE, according to the Lehigh County Controller's Office recommendation obtained by Newsweek.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Centuries of penal laws had left Catholics as impoverished tenant farmers, while Protestants – wealthier and less reliant on the crop – had greater resources to survive.—
Paula Kane,
The Conversation,
13 Mar. 2026
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But those who do get caught end up experiencing the Gulf’s penal system for at least a while, which is something most tourists and residents would prefer to avoid.—
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Occasionally, King’s assistants, a pair of bulky guys with law-enforcement backgrounds, offered the stumbling line a corrective shove.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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Council members and staffers have been grappling with cost estimates that peg corrective repairs to the City Hall building at $329 million and more than $1 billion for full modernization over 20 years.—
Devyani Chhetri,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Punitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punitive. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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