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 Florian Wirtz was ineffective, and there were moments when a more ruthless team than Ipswich might have punished Liverpool. — Stuart James, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026 The stock is down almost 7% this year, with Goldman saying it's been unfairly punished. — Michael Bloom, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026 The league punished Las Vegas by taking away a first-round draft pick and suspending coach Becky Hammon for two games. — Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026 The Brewers eventually turned to first baseman Andrew Vaughn to pitch for the final two innings, and the Cubs punished him, knocking in seven runs, including three home runs. — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026 In Brussels’ view, those weaknesses create a direct risk that EU funds can be misused without such abuse being properly detected or punished. — Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 30 Aug. 2026 Anthropic’s primary tech industry rival, ChatGPT maker OpenAI, made its own deal to work with the Pentagon just hours after the government punished Anthropic for its stance. — Kaitlyn Huamani, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026 The precedent comes from a landmark case called Tinker v Des Moines, in which students were punished for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. — Daniel Rivero, Sun Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026 The teacher was one of several interviewed for this story who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of being punished or fired for speaking out on the topic. — Jessica Meszaros, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for punished

Verb

During a second-round match between two of tennis’ most combustible personalities, Ilie Nastase and John McEnroe, chair umpire Frank Hammond penalized and eventually defaulted Nastase for his behavior.

— Douglas Robson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
The league has penalized the Clippers and individuals involved in the alleged misconduct in one of the most punishing moves the league has enacted in its history.

— Joshua Hong, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of penalized

Verb

Two other executives were also suspended for their roles, including team president Lawrence Frank for six months, and Leonard was fined $700,000.

— Matt Schubert, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
He was fined $5,000, to be paid to the State Bar of New Mexico Client Protection Fund, but more penalties could come out of the disciplinary proceedings ordered by the court.

— Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of fined

Verb

Two South Florida men were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a nearly $35 million health care scam after billing Medicare for thousands of orthotic braces sent to beneficiaries who did not need them.

— Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2026
She is set to be sentenced later this month and faces up to 40 years in prison.

— Annie Martin, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of sentenced

Verb

Beyond the nine murders for which the group was officially convicted, investigators and prosecutors have long believed the true victim count was much higher.

— Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Lich, who was tried and convicted in connection with the protests and is still under house arrest, has shifted her energies to Alberta separatism.

— Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of convicted

Verb

Another user also criticized the company in a Microsoft Learn article, and pointed to Harry Potter author JK Rowling and her controversial views on transgender people.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 8 Sep. 2026
Their friendship is apparently still solid, and Swift hasn’t publicly criticized him or Macklemore.

— StyleCaster Editors, StyleCaster, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of criticized

Verb

But those governments are being disciplined into restraint; in London, the gilt market is effectively writing the next budget.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026
And the companies that operate this way tend to become deeply disciplined around measurable performance.

— Nia Bowers, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of disciplined

Verb

But Seminole’s Special Magistrate Sherry Sutphen chastised Moncrief, a resident of The Springs neighborhood, for likely damaging the river’s ecology behind his home and obstructing its natural flow.

— Martin E. Comas, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2026
The Lynx, bolstered by the addition of Miles, chastised the Valkyries again like a sister simply too big, too strong and too confident.

— Marcus Thompson II, New York Times, 20 Aug. 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 16 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of punished

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