punishing 1 of 2

adjective

as in punitive

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punishing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of punish
as in penalizing
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime the child was punished for breaking dishes on purpose if caught, the thief will be severely punished

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of punishing
Adjective
The tragedy unfolds amid a punishing Western wildfire season driven by dry weather, scant snowpack, heat and erratic winds. — Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2026 Pair him with Sharpe, and the Nets could build one of the league’s most punishing center rotations on the glass. — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 26 June 2026 Instead, left under the most punishing economic sanctions Cubans have known in their lives, the island may slowly wither and die. — Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 22 Mar. 2026 First introduced in 1944, the multi-purpose off-roader with portal axles has been used as the basis for military, emergency, and commercial vehicles in some of the most punishing environments around the world. — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 18 Dec. 2025 But the new government, led by former rebels who toppled Bashar al-Assad, is urging US lawmakers to repeal the most punishing sanctions isolating Syria from the world economy. — Natasha Bracken, semafor.com, 13 Nov. 2025
Verb
If the teams refuse to enroll the players who benefit from the TRO, those players could petition Hoffman to clarify that his order also blocks the SEC from punishing schools. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 29 Aug. 2026 Tristan described life at the Federal Detention Center as physically and psychologically punishing. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026 The Native community had its own ways of punishing wrongdoers, but Stevens’ role was to protect her client’s constitutional rights. — Mackenzie Farkus, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026 Years and years of punishing sanctions have limited how much further action the United States can take. — Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026 That has raised questions about whether another punishing economic campaign can really bend — or break — Iran's ruling establishment. — Arezou Rezvani, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026 Iran has weathered near-continuous, punishing economic sanctions for nearly 50 years, since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. — Reuters, NBC news, 21 Aug. 2026 The punishing financial verdicts against Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, in recent years have forced him into bankruptcy, led to some of his personal property being put up for auction and led to him leaving his Infowars platform. — Jim Vertuno, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026 Summary The market is in turmoil over AI, punishing companies regardless of their strategy. — Jemma Green, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punishing
  1. punitive
  2. penalizing
  3. fining
  4. disciplining
  5. criticizing
  6. sentencing
  7. correcting
  8. chastising
Adjective
  • The Department of Defense attempted to blacklist Anthropic in February after the company refused to remove restrictions on its AI models being used for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance, a move widely seen as punitive.
    — Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Defense attorneys described their confinement as effectively punitive segregation even though the brothers had not committed disciplinary violations.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of punitive
Verb
  • According to attorneys representing the players, the injunction allows the plaintiffs to compete during the upcoming season and prevents the NCAA from penalizing schools or coaches for putting them on their rosters.
    — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, aims to hurt Russia’s war effort in Ukraine by penalizing purchasers of Russian oil and Russian leaders.
    — Irit Skulnik, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of penalizing
Verb
  • Players are simply not going to hold back because their coaches say, or the NFL is fining their beloved club.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Aug. 2026
  • In July, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also cited Lineage for rodent and pest-control violations, fining the company $500 per day until the violations were corrected.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of fining
Verb
  • The State Bar would be tasked with disciplining lawyers that flout the rule.
    — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Nonetheless the school pressed forward with disciplining the students.
    — Daniel Rivero, Sun Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of disciplining
Verb
  • Republican lawmaker Carl DeMaio of San Diego has vocalized his opposition in discussions of the bill, criticizing the idea of providing funding to outlets that make political endorsements.
    — Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Yiannopoulos rose to prominence through his provocative statements criticizing political correctness, feminism and Islam.
    — Chris Arnold, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of criticizing
Verb
  • In sentencing Kapoor to more than 11 years in prison, the judge sided with prosecutors, who recommended a sentence of 136 months.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Timothy is charged with murder — an offense that typically mandates a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole — therefore the judge is required to hold a Miller hearing before sentencing in the case.
    — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of sentencing
Verb
  • An important demonstration of this principle was provided by Google's Willow processor, which demonstrated that error rates could decrease as the number of physical qubits participating in an error-correcting code increased.
    — Chuck Brooks, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • No deleting, rereading, correcting grammar, or performing intelligence.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of correcting
Verb
  • Seconds later, Vitello was tossed from the game and a hot mic caught third base umpire Lance Barrett chastising the Giants manager.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026
  • When the House Committee smeared me on TV and sent letters chastising Northwestern during the Biden administration, suddenly my Palestine solidarity speech became a fireable offense.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 July 2026
Definition of chastising

Browse Nearby Words

punishes
punishing
punishment
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Cite this Entry

“Punishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punishing. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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