as in nemesis
one who inflicts punishment in return for an injury or offense
a father who regrets the fact that he always ends up being the household's disciplinarian and resident punisher
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Recent Examples of punisher
Montgomery has barely been in the big leagues for two months but has already put his name alongside a couple of franchise icons (and another hard-core punisher of baseballs).
—
Phil Rogers, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Phil Rogers, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punisher
Noun
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After California came another business nemesis, Texas, where values dipped $32 billion.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
15 Sep. 2025
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The Greeks warned that hubris invites nemesis, and nemesis brings downfall.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Mangione's image has been merged into memes with Nintendo's Luigi, portraying him as a vigilante avenger of systemic injustice.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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An important, if subtle, difference between Meiko Kaji and Pam Grier as action stars is that, where Kaji is an avenger, Grier is a protector.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Yet To Catch a Predator itself has long been criticized by some for entrapment-style tactics, vigilante justice, the blurry line between law enforcement and journalism, and, most importantly to Osit, questions on whether the punishment for some offenders fits the crime.—
Jason Newman,
Rolling Stone,
20 Sep. 2025
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So there's going to be people, vigilantes, superheroes that are involved in that.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Punisher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punisher. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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