punish

verb

PUN-ish/ˈpʌnɪʃ/

Formspunishes, punishing, punished

4 meanings of punish

1
verbtransitive
To make someone suffer or lose something because they did something wrong.
Like being sent to your room when you break a rule.
Parents often punish children who lie to them.
The judge punished the thief with a year in jail.
Similarcastigate
Oppositereward, pardon, forgive, excuse
2
verbfigurativelytransitive
To treat someone in a hard and unfair way.
Like being blamed for something that was not your fault.
Unfair laws punish the poor more than the rich.
The system punished her for being honest.
Similarmistreat
Oppositebenefit, favor, reward
3
verbcolloquialtransitive
To hit, beat, or damage something very hard.
Like a hammer hitting the same spot again and again.
The boxer punished his opponent with body shots.
Heavy waves punish ships that drift too near the rocks.
Similarbatter, pummel, pound, thrash, hammer
4
verbcolloquialtransitive
To eat or drink a large amount of something.
Like finishing a huge plate of food before anyone else gets any.
The kids punished a whole pizza in minutes.
After the race, runners punish bottle after bottle of water.
Similardevour, demolish, inhale, scoff

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of punish apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It came through Old French punir into Middle English, from Latin puniō 'I punish', from poena 'punishment, penalty'.