as in penalties
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 punishments
Now that the dust has settled on an Africa Cup of Nations final that will be remembered for years, African soccer’s governing body has handed out punishments for the chaos that ensued.
—
Ben Church, CNN Money, 29 Jan. 2026
Under the new agreement, brand-limiting NCAA punishments against any of those three programs would trigger the same 30% reduction, while men’s hockey would be subject to a smaller, 20% cut.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The possible punishments for being found in contempt of Congress is a fine of up to $100,000 and prison time of no more than 12 months.
—Mike Stunson, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Disobeying orders in the military can lead to grave punishments.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
Nealon said her organization does not support punishments for violating phone bans like suspension, noting that some advocates have raised concerns that such disciplinary action could disproportionately impact children of color.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
Beltran was the only player on the team directly named by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred when announcing punishments for the organization.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Her first executive orders were less controversial than Spanberger’s, who shocked Republicans by vastly liberalizing criminal punishments — one of the Democrats’ least popular areas.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 20 Jan. 2026
The investigation led to punishments for Mass State Police detectives, and the feds opened a probe into the county’s murder investigation.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
Ben Church, CNN Money, 29 Jan. 2026
Under the new agreement, brand-limiting NCAA punishments against any of those three programs would trigger the same 30% reduction, while men’s hockey would be subject to a smaller, 20% cut.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The possible punishments for being found in contempt of Congress is a fine of up to $100,000 and prison time of no more than 12 months.
—Mike Stunson, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Disobeying orders in the military can lead to grave punishments.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
Nealon said her organization does not support punishments for violating phone bans like suspension, noting that some advocates have raised concerns that such disciplinary action could disproportionately impact children of color.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
Beltran was the only player on the team directly named by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred when announcing punishments for the organization.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Her first executive orders were less controversial than Spanberger’s, who shocked Republicans by vastly liberalizing criminal punishments — one of the Democrats’ least popular areas.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 20 Jan. 2026
The investigation led to punishments for Mass State Police detectives, and the feds opened a probe into the county’s murder investigation.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punishments
penalties
Noun
-
Increasingly, schools in California excessively coddle students by neglecting to impose penalties for late work, eliminating the possibility for a failing grade, and unlimited opportunities to redo exams and assignments.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
31 Jan. 2026
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Subsequent offenses, or charges that involve injuries, deaths or damage, could face tougher penalties.—
Josh Funk,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Punishments.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punishments. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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