as in correctional
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment
any misbehavior was immediately met with a punitive response the company had to pay a million dollars in punitive damages
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Recent Examples of punitive
Far better to focus on growth: End America’s punitive tax treatment of investment spending.
—
Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 7 May 2025
Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images Billionaire Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of the Citadel hedge fund, said working class Americans will bear the brunt of President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs on U.S. trading partners.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 7 May 2025
On the mid to lower six-figure pitch where most Americans play, the majority of buyers are still spooked by punitive interest rates, stubborn inflation, and a legitimate unease about buying high.
—Peter Lane Taylor, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
As a result of President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs regime, economists across the ideological spectrum say the breadth and scope of the tariffs are likely to throw the US economy into reverse and harm Americans financially.
—Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for punitive
Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 7 May 2025
Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images Billionaire Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of the Citadel hedge fund, said working class Americans will bear the brunt of President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs on U.S. trading partners.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 7 May 2025
On the mid to lower six-figure pitch where most Americans play, the majority of buyers are still spooked by punitive interest rates, stubborn inflation, and a legitimate unease about buying high.
—Peter Lane Taylor, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
As a result of President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs regime, economists across the ideological spectrum say the breadth and scope of the tariffs are likely to throw the US economy into reverse and harm Americans financially.
—Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for punitive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punitive
Adjective
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In the report on El Salvador, whose penal system has become a dumping ground for migrants deported from the United States, there will be no details on the conditions in those prisons.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
1 May 2025
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Convicted in London for conducting clandestine marriages, Grierson was sentenced to 14 years of penal servitude in the American Colonies.—
Alexandra Cox,
Smithsonian Magazine,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But Department of Social Services regulators have substantiated a host of other violations in recent years and ordered the facility to implement corrective actions, records show.—
Jeff Mcdonald,
Mercury News,
12 May 2025
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By creating structured processes for human experts to validate AI decisions and provide corrective feedback, enterprises can accelerate the learning curve for their agents while managing risk.—
Manish Garg,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Punitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punitive. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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