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 But several people who spoke during the board meeting commended students who took part in the walkout and asked they not be punished for their advocacy. — Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026 No detainees were being punished, officials said, and the small boxes didn’t exist. — Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026 Under Idaho law, first-degree murder is a crime that can be punished by death or life imprisonment. — Mark Guarino, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026 The SaaSpocalypse narrative, which started gaining traction in 2025, punished Salesforce and other software companies as frontier AI models became increasingly powerful. — Jordan Novet, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026 United should have done more with the dominance in each first half and were eventually punished. — Beren Cross, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026 By contrast, Xi grew up in a system that punished openness and personal dynamism. — Jonathan A. Czin, The Atlantic, 14 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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for punished

Verb

However, that’s up to the discretion of the officials, and when Rothenberg asked the USTA if Serena and Venus would face a fee, the association said they will not be penalized for Friday’s media absence.

— Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of penalized

Verb

In 2011, Kobach was fined $5,000 by the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission — KPDC’s precursor — for inaccurately reporting more than $75,000 in contributions and expenditures during the 2010 election.

— Cuyler Dunn, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026
In 2013, Kolenda was convicted in Missoula County Justice Court in Montana on one count of acting as an insurance producer without a license and was fined $10,000, officials said.

— Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of fined

Verb

Syria's military criminal court sentenced the soldier to 20 years in prison Thursday.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026
His arrest occurred the same day a Bronx judge sentenced a man who was convicted of a 2001 rape with the help of genetic genealogy, officials said.

— Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 18 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

Vance also criticized border policy under former President Joe Biden while praising deportations.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
The report was heavily criticized for failing to assign blame or identify specific evacuation failures, but officials have said that wasn’t the goal of the McChrystal Group review.

— Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of criticized

Verb

The university is also facing a separate federal lawsuit filed in February by a student accused of using artificial intelligence to write papers, who alleges the university disciplined them without a fair process.

— DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
This means being communicative, proactive and disciplined in the engagement.

— Ashish Agarwal, Forbes.com, 15 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 21 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of punished

verb

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