as in penalty
suffering, loss, or hardship imposed in response to a crime or offense
he is serving five years in prison as punishment for aggravated assault
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Recent Examples of punishment
Peterson ruled in 2017 that the state could not hold teen inmates in solitary confinement as a form of punishment for more than seven days.
—
Molly Beck, jsonline.com, 29 Jan. 2026
While Senegal bore the brunt of CAF’s punishment, Morocco has also been slapped with several penalties.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 29 Jan. 2026
Araminta, assuming that Lord Penwood’s condition was her punishment for not being able to produce a male heir, agreed reluctantly.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 29 Jan. 2026
In November, a war-crime tribunal decided that punishment would be death, were Hasina ever to return to Bangladesh.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punishment
Molly Beck, jsonline.com, 29 Jan. 2026
While Senegal bore the brunt of CAF’s punishment, Morocco has also been slapped with several penalties.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 29 Jan. 2026
Araminta, assuming that Lord Penwood’s condition was her punishment for not being able to produce a male heir, agreed reluctantly.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 29 Jan. 2026
In November, a war-crime tribunal decided that punishment would be death, were Hasina ever to return to Bangladesh.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for punishment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punishment
Noun
-
The Lightning won the game in a penalty shootout thanks to goals from Kucherov, Gage Goncalves and Jake Guentzel.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
2 Feb. 2026
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His detractors, however, criticize the mayor for focusing on short-term housing for the homeless at the expense of long-term solutions, threatening to arrest homeless people, and supporting Proposition 36, which Newsom opposed, that toughened penalties against repeat drug and theft offenses.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
And farther north along Gleason Beach in Sonoma County, rapid erosion finally forced officials in 2020 to move a section of the road inland, to further avoid the ocean’s wrath.—
Grace Toohey,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
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The mood in the crowd was widespread anger and sadness — recalling the same outpour of wrath that shook the city for weeks after the killing of George Floyd in 2020, although without the widespread rioting that had occurred then.—
Jack Brook,
Twin Cities,
25 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Punishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punishment. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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