# punishment

Pronunciation: say "PUN-ish-muhnt" /ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/

## Noun

1. The act or process of imposing a sanction on someone, typically by an authority such as a parent or teacher, in response to bad behavior.
   - Simple: The act of making someone face an unpleasant result for behaving badly, usually by a parent or teacher.
   - _The school's approach to punishment focuses on correction rather than blame._
   - _Many parents struggle to decide what form of punishment fits a child's misbehavior._
2. A penalty imposed in response to wrongdoing, especially the sanction set for a crime.
   - Simple: A penalty given to someone for doing something wrong, especially a crime.
   - _The court decided that community service was a fitting punishment for the offense._
   - _Reformers argued that the punishment did not match the seriousness of the crime._
3. The pain or loss inflicted on someone as retribution for what they have done.
   - Simple: Pain or loss made to happen to someone to pay them back for what they did.
   - _The exile was meant as punishment, a lifelong loss for his betrayal._
   - _Ancient codes prescribed punishment in measure with the suffering a wrongdoer caused._
4. Harsh treatment or rough handling that a person, object, or surface is subjected to.
   - Simple: Very rough or hard treatment that something or someone has to put up with.
   - _The team's defense absorbed punishment for the entire second half._
   - _Hiking boots like these are built to withstand serious punishment on rough trails._

## Origin

From Middle English punishement, from Old French punissement, from punir ("to punish"); equivalent to punish + -ment. It displaced the native Old English word wīte.

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