as in punitive
Related Words
Relevance
as in penalizing
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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 punishing
Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 22 Mar. 2026
First introduced in 1944, the multi-purpose off-roader with portal axles has been used as the basis for military, emergency, and commercial vehicles in some of the most punishing environments around the world.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 18 Dec. 2025
But the new government, led by former rebels who toppled Bashar al-Assad, is urging US lawmakers to repeal the most punishing sanctions isolating Syria from the world economy.
—Natasha Bracken, semafor.com, 13 Nov. 2025
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2026
The arguments now looked back at what went wrong, forward to punishing the guilty, and perhaps to fixing what was broken.
—David Blumenthal, STAT, 24 Mar. 2026
Having faced Big Ten physicality all season, first-year Iowa coach Ben McCollum’s team went toe to toe with Florida’s punishing front court.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
Matheus Cunha spent the better part of an hour dragging Alex Jimenez into uncomfortable positions before punishing any flaws in his defending.
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2026
Juan Daniel García Treviño anchors the film as Liborio, a newcomer navigating a punishing New York that seems determined to break him.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 20 Mar. 2026
At an average of over 21%, today's credit card rates are punishing, meaning that the repayment process continually gets more difficult for borrowers as the interest compounds.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
The Avalanche Gulch route is 11 miles round-trip, with 7,300 punishing feet of vertical gain.
—Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2026
Breaking the Waves, von Trier’s beautiful and artfully punishing 1996 melodrama, elevated Skarsgård’s image in America from side character to formidable screen presence.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
Instead, left under the most punishing economic sanctions Cubans have known in their lives, the island may slowly wither and die.
—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 22 Mar. 2026
First introduced in 1944, the multi-purpose off-roader with portal axles has been used as the basis for military, emergency, and commercial vehicles in some of the most punishing environments around the world.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 18 Dec. 2025
But the new government, led by former rebels who toppled Bashar al-Assad, is urging US lawmakers to repeal the most punishing sanctions isolating Syria from the world economy.
—Natasha Bracken, semafor.com, 13 Nov. 2025
Verb
We get hit, get some adversity, miss some shots, and then just everybody starts worrying about what happened on offense and teams take advantage of it and keep punishing us.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2026
The arguments now looked back at what went wrong, forward to punishing the guilty, and perhaps to fixing what was broken.
—David Blumenthal, STAT, 24 Mar. 2026
Having faced Big Ten physicality all season, first-year Iowa coach Ben McCollum’s team went toe to toe with Florida’s punishing front court.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
Matheus Cunha spent the better part of an hour dragging Alex Jimenez into uncomfortable positions before punishing any flaws in his defending.
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2026
Juan Daniel García Treviño anchors the film as Liborio, a newcomer navigating a punishing New York that seems determined to break him.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 20 Mar. 2026
At an average of over 21%, today's credit card rates are punishing, meaning that the repayment process continually gets more difficult for borrowers as the interest compounds.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
The Avalanche Gulch route is 11 miles round-trip, with 7,300 punishing feet of vertical gain.
—Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2026
Breaking the Waves, von Trier’s beautiful and artfully punishing 1996 melodrama, elevated Skarsgård’s image in America from side character to formidable screen presence.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punishing
Adjective
-
The jurors reached the compensatory verdict first, then had to go back and deliberate further to come up with the punitive award.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
-
However, if Tuesday’s $375 million verdict out of a similar social media trial in New Mexico is any blueprint, expect the punitive award in the West Coast trial to be a comparable amount.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The proposal would block states from regulating how models are developed and from penalizing companies for downstream uses of their AI.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Locally, this transformation has been more controversial, especially among her political opponents and suburbanites who have criticized her for penalizing drivers.—
Marie Patino,
Bloomberg,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
After learning some defendants were sitting in Colorado jails for years, the federal government began fining the state $12 million a year.—
Shaun Boyd,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The city has been fining him ever since.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
And in an exclusive interview, TJ Watkins, a member of California’s medical licensing board, called for greater transparency in the secretive process for disciplining physicians, saying the board should alert the public about doctors under investigation for alleged misconduct.—
Fred Schulte,
NBC news,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Along with disciplining doctors, the Board of Medicine can set guidelines and rules for best medical practices.—
Romy Ellenbogen,
Miami Herald,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
In 2010, a grand jury indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom on grand theft and conspiracy charges and issued a 10-page presentment criticizing the Legislature’s appropriations process.—
Lawrence Mower,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Moore also pointed out flaws in facial recognition technology as a whole, criticizing its early, widespread adoption by law enforcement agencies worldwide.—
Neil J. Rubenking,
PC Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Jurors convicted her of murder and related charges, sentencing her to three life terms in prison.—
Austin Sanders,
Austin American Statesman,
9 Mar. 2026
-
During deliberations, the jury asked to review the lyrics twice — including just hours before sentencing Broadnax to die.—
Jamie Landers,
Dallas Morning News,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The resulting management overhead — spending elite engineering time correcting outputs and paying the high token costs of ungrounded prompts — eventually outweighs the initial speed of creation.—
Mohith Shrivastava,
Fortune,
31 Mar. 2026
-
This suggests the players were continuously correcting their movements mid-execution.—
David Van den Heever,
The Conversation,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, the newest major candidate to enter the race, hewed toward partisan middle ground, chastising leaders in Sacramento for allowing the state budget to balloon without tangible improvements to housing affordability, homelessness and public schools.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Unfortunately, instead of chastising their petulant colleagues, nearly every other Democratic politician has decided to join them in thrashing about on the floor.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Punishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punishing. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
