PUNISHED Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

punished

verb

past tense of punish

as in penalized

to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime the child was punished for breaking dishes on purpose if caught, the thief will be severely punished

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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 Like Jacas, rookie Khalil Jacobs was punished a couple times for over-pursuing. — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 15 Aug. 2026 When training concludes with small sided games, losing teams are punished with more running to end the session while the winning team can relax and watch. — Andy Jones, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026 Churchill challenged his dismissal in court, arguing that he had been punished for his political speech. — Jeff Gurney, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026 Restrictions have extended outside the classroom, with some teachers being fired or punished for criticizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk after his assassination. — Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 7 Aug. 2026 This is in part because of the psychological need to believe in a just world, where good people are rewarded and bad people are punished. — Jen Cole Wright, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 2026 In both cases, she was punished with 12 months probation, 30 days suspension and the loss of 30 vacation days. — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026 Vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence — the most serious type of vehicular manslaughter — could be punished with up to a year in county jail or with a state prison sentence that could be as long as six years. — Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 6 Aug. 2026 No, but good results continue to receive a tepid reception, and disappointing results are severely punished. — Michael Khouw, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for punished

Verb

Benzina's spot kick was awarded after a VAR check penalized Algeria’s Lana Smits for catching Sakina Ouzraoui in the face with a flailing arm.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
Pittsburgh was flagged 11 times for 135 yards while the Packers were penalized nine times for 76 yards.

— CBS News, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of penalized

Verb

If the Giants had tried to send Saturday’s lineup to Goodyear or Glendale for a Cactus League exhibition, they might have been fined by Major League Baseball for not having enough regulars.

— Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
For the record, Cohen himself was never fined nor convicted of insider trading by the SEC.

— Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of fined

Verb

Lucas was convicted of fatally shooting a 16-year-old girl who rejected his romantic advances and wounding two of her friends.

— CBS News, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
Tunick has never been convicted of a crime, nor charged with any crime in relation to his activism against the training center.

— AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of convicted

Verb

Chief Critic Democratic Party consultant and former President Barack Obama’s ex-campaign adviser David Axelrod criticized the White House’s decision to use the old plane as a decoy with journalists on board.

— Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026
The Saturday Night actress also opened up about how she’s been criticized over the years for her relationships.

— Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of criticized

Verb

Some critics said the report failed to answer basic questions, such as how many less-lethal rounds were fired or how many officers were disciplined for misconduct.

— Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
The Habit Of Preempting Temptation Naturally disciplined people make their decisions early, at a point when nothing is actually at stake, and then treat the later moment as a matter of following through rather than deciding.

— Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of disciplined

Verb

Tlaib is also a prominent critic of Israel; her rhetoric has been chastised by Jewish colleagues as an antisemitic call for eradicating Jews, a charge the congresswoman and her supporters reject.

— Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026
Granger chastised Abernethy in a series of emails, then took her concerns to Oberhelman, questioning his decision to assign her operations duties for the entire program in addition to her job coaching the divers.

— Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 23 July 2026

Definition of chastised

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punishable

punished

punisher

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“Punished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punished. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of punished

verb

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