How to Use penalize in a Sentence

penalize

verb
  • The hockey player was penalized for holding.
  • The company was penalized for not paying taxes.
  • This law would unfairly penalize immigrants.
  • Smith was not penalized for his part.
    — Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
  • He should be penalized for that.
    — Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 15 Apr. 2026
  • He should be penalized for that.
    — Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2026
  • Kim was penalized and did not complete a lap in the race.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Hadley was even penalized a point during the fight for two eye pokes.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
  • This is no fault of the seller, and they should not be penalized for it.
    — Richard Parker, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025
  • But most games penalize you for failing and force you to do the same thing again.
    — Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2021
  • Even if a player isn’t penalized, he could still be fined by the league.
    — Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 9 Aug. 2024
  • The rookie tackle let up a sack and was penalized for a false start.
    — Doug Kyed, Hartford Courant, 9 Feb. 2026
  • The Rams were penalized twice on the play when Hunter got hit.
    — Julianne McShane, NBC News, 19 Sep. 2023
  • You get penalized for not having it.
    — Bill Schiffmiller, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
  • The bill would not penalize women who take or obtain the pills.
    — David W. Chen, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2023
  • Or penalize rather than reward kickers who just kick it through the end zone?
    — Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2022
  • And my deepest hope is that my actions don’t penalize my team.
    — Randi Richardson, NBC News, 28 Nov. 2022
  • Wilson was not penalized for the hit, which appeared to be clean.
    — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2026
  • His brand of discipline has led to the league’s fifth-most penalized.
    — Dave Hyde, sun-sentinel.com, 4 Dec. 2019
  • Presto, he was penalized five times at Jacksonville the next week.
    — Kansas City Star, 6 Oct. 2025
  • In the movies and in fairy tales, nobody was penalized for falling in love at first sight.
    — Addie Citchens, New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2026
  • The fairway bunkers are quite penalizing with the big lips.
    — Timothy Dashiell, Baltimore Sun, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Shesterkin was penalized two minutes for leaving the goalie's crease.
    — Ryan Canfield, Fox News, 22 Jan. 2025
  • The Jets were only penalized two times.
    — Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
  • So adults who do put the safety of kids first should be applauded not penalized.
    — oregonlive, 8 Jan. 2020
  • If the hitter doesn’t do it, the umpire is supposed to penalize him with a strike.
    — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 16 June 2026
  • He shouldn’t be penalized for being great at what was considered great at the time.
    — Chuck Murr, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
  • Be sure to check with your vendor to make sure you won’t be penalized for paying off the loan early.
    — Paris Goodman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 June 2025
  • Taboo Words This game penalizes players who say the wrong words.
    — Mary Alice Russell, Southern Living, 28 Dec. 2025
  • Clubs could go below this threshold but be penalized in some fashion.
    — Maury Brown, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'penalize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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