punishment

noun

pun·​ish·​ment ˈpə-nish-mənt How to pronounce punishment (audio)
Synonyms of punishmentnext
1
: the act of punishing
2
a
: suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retribution
b
: a penalty inflicted on an offender through judicial procedure
3
: severe, rough, or disastrous treatment

Synonyms of punishment

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of punishment in a Sentence

I took away my daughter's car keys as a punishment for her bad behavior. The punishments that the government has inflicted on the protesters are severe and unjust. The punishment for murder is life imprisonment. Some religions teach that wicked people will suffer eternal punishment in hell after they die.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Participants fell into their roles a little too well and, after a prisoner rebellion, increasingly cruel forms of punishment from the guards and a number of students suffering mental breakdowns, the experiment was ended on the sixth day. — Marlow Stern, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026 Each also received a $10,000 fine as part of their punishment that will be paid to the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund. — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026 The team was fined $30 million and lost five consecutive draft picks from 2029 through 2033 as punishment. — CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 One amusing punishment for Taverner is that her beautiful vacation home on the Suffolk coast will be in serious need of renovation. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for punishment

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of punishment was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing punishment

Browse Nearby Words

punisher
punishment
punition
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Punishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punishment. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

punishment

noun
pun·​ish·​ment ˈpən-ish-mənt How to pronounce punishment (audio)
1
a
: the act of punishing
b
: the state or fact of being punished
persons undergoing punishment
2
: the penalty for a fault or crime
the punishment for robbery
3
: severe, rough, or disastrous treatment

Legal Definition

punishment

noun
pun·​ish·​ment
1
: the act of punishing
2
: a penalty (as a fine or imprisonment) inflicted on an offender through the judicial and especially criminal process see also cruel and unusual punishment
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All