# punishing

Pronunciation: US say "PUN-i-shing" /ˈpʌnɪʃɪŋ/; UK

## Adjective

1. Extremely demanding and exhausting, testing physical or mental endurance to the breaking point.
   - Simple: Very hard and tiring, pushing your body or mind to the limit.
   - _Recruits endured a punishing training regimen in the first weeks of camp._
   - _The lawyers worked punishing hours to meet the filing deadline._
3. Harsh and wearing to the point of weakening or damaging someone or something.
   - Simple: So harsh that it slowly wears you down or causes real harm.
   - _Months of punishing interest rates pushed several small firms into bankruptcy._
   - _The campaign faced a punishing wave of negative press._

## Verb

2. Present participle of punish. — present participle and gerund of punish
   - Simple: Present participle of punish. Use this form for something happening right now.
   - _The referee is punishing every late tackle with a yellow card._
   - _Punishing offenders without explaining the rule teaches them nothing._

## Noun

4. The act of inflicting a penalty or rough treatment on someone for a wrongdoing.
   - Simple: A beating or rough treatment given to someone, often as a penalty.
   - _The veteran defense handed the young quarterback a brutal punishing all afternoon._
   - _He came home from the brawl having taken quite a punishing._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/punishing (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).