punish
English · Thesaurus
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punish
- /ˈpʌnɪʃ/
Rhymes with -ʌnɪʃ, -ɪʃ
Where it comes from
From Middle English punischen, from Anglo-Norman, Old French puniss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of punir, from Latin puniō (“to inflict punishment upon”), from poena (“punishment, penalty”); see pain. Displaced Old English wītnian and (mostly, in this sense) wrecan.
verb punishes · punishing · punished · punishe
- To cause (a child, student, or someone else being looked after, or a suspect or criminal) to suffer for crime or misconduct, to administer disciplinary action, typically by an authority or a person in authority (for example: a parent, teacher, or police officer). If a prince violates the law, then he must be punished like an ordinary person.
-
To treat harshly and unfairly.
But each effort that Anna makes —and she has attempted many— meets with obstacles from a welfare bureaucracy that punishes single mothers for initiative and partial economic self-sufficiency.
Similar: mistreat
- To handle or beat severely; to maul.
- To consume a large quantity of. A few moments later, we were all sitting around the veranda of the hunters' dining hall, punishing the gin, as usual.
Similar: amerce, castigate, chasten, chastise, come down on, correct, fix someone's wagon, have someone's guts for garters, have someone's head, have someone's hide, give it to someone, give someone what for, give what for, gruel, malavogue, nail someone to the wall, penalize, penance, punish, tan someone's hide, tar out, teach someone a lesson · Opposite: forgive, let off, reward
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: penalize, punitive, penal, penalty, punishment, crackdown, criminalize, discipline, criminalization, impose, convict, enforce, prohibit, infringement, repression, repress
verb
Similar: amerce, castigate, chasten, chastise, come down on, correct, fix someone's wagon, have someone's guts for garters, have someone's head, have someone's hide, give it to someone, give someone what for, give what for, gruel, malavogue, nail someone to the wall, penalize, penance, punish, tan someone's hide, tar out, teach someone a lesson · Opposite: forgive, let off, reward
Translations
Every language
verb to cause to suffer for crime or misconduct
| Español | castigar, punir, empurar, escarmentar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 벌주다 beoljuda, 징벌하다 jingbeolhada, 처벌하다 cheobeolhada, 응징하다 eungjinghada |
| 日本語 | 罰する bassuru, 懲罰する chōbatsu suru |
| 中文 | 懲罰 /惩罚 chéngfá, 處罰 /处罚 chǔfá, 制裁 zhìcái |
| हिन्दी | सज़ा देना sazā denā, दंड देना daṇḍ denā |
| Kiswahili | kuadhibu |
| Português | castigar, punir |
| Français | punir, châtier |
| Deutsch | bestrafen, strafen |
| Italiano | punire, castigare |
| Ελληνικά | τιμωρώ timoró |
| Română | a pedepsi |
| Русский | нака́зывать nakázyvatʹ, наказа́ть nakazátʹ, кара́ть karátʹ, покара́ть pokarátʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | phạt, trừng phạt |
| العربية | عَاقَبَ ʕāqaba, قَاصَصَ qāṣaṣa, اِقْتَصَّ iqtaṣṣa, جَزَى jazā |
| עברית | הֶעֱנִישׁ he'enísh |
Talk about this word "punish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/punish. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. punish. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/punish "punish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/punish.Cite this
@misc{punish_2026,
title = {punish},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/punish},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
