as in penalty
suffering, loss, or hardship imposed in response to a crime or offense
he is serving five years in prison as punishment for aggravated assault
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Recent Examples of punishment
The second week of Tanner Horner's punishment phase began with Scott Morris, a digital forensic examiner employed by the FBI, who exposed the search history of the FedEx driver's cellphone.
—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 14 Apr. 2026
In order to reconcile this, some medieval Christians developed the idea that the defeats were a punishment for Christian sin.
—Anna Piela, The Conversation, 13 Apr. 2026
But the humanitarian crisis on the ground and the collective punishment and cruelty towards the Cuban people, civilians, by the United States foreign policy is really outrageous.
—NBC news, 12 Apr. 2026
As in almost every other area of California government, the process is the punishment.
—Will Swaim, Oc Register, 12 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punishment
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 14 Apr. 2026
In order to reconcile this, some medieval Christians developed the idea that the defeats were a punishment for Christian sin.
—Anna Piela, The Conversation, 13 Apr. 2026
But the humanitarian crisis on the ground and the collective punishment and cruelty towards the Cuban people, civilians, by the United States foreign policy is really outrageous.
—NBC news, 12 Apr. 2026
As in almost every other area of California government, the process is the punishment.
—Will Swaim, Oc Register, 12 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punishment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punishment
Noun
-
In the second semi-final, which was played in front of a crowd of more than 7,000, Real Madrid scored in the 83rd minute to equalise against PSG before coming from behind in the penalty shootout to advance to Monday night’s final.—
Dan Sheldon,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2026
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Hagel, who has seen more time on the first power-play unit in the left circle, scored from the edge of the crease, slipping past the Canadiens penalty killers and tipping in Jake Guentzel’s pass from the right circle.—
Eduardo Encina,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Or risk the wrath of being on the wrong side.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
7 Apr. 2026
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The immediate object of Uthmeier’s wrath is the Rooney Rule, voluntarily adopted more than two decades ago by the NFL to ensure that minority candidates are interviewed for coaching positions.—
Howard L. Simon,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Punishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punishment. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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