How to Use punish in a Sentence

punish

verb
Definition of punishnext
Synonyms for punishnext
  • She was punished for lying.
  • State law punishes fraud with fines.
  • His parents punished him by taking away his allowance.
  • I think that murderers should be punished by life imprisonment.
  • How should I punish my child's misbehavior?
  • He was allowed to briefly cause chaos and in the end was not punished for his antics.
    — Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 22 Aug. 2023
  • The misdemeanor crime can be punished with up to three months in jail.
    — Shelly Bradbury, The Denver Post, 21 Feb. 2024
  • In order to punish the Pharaoh to free the Israelites, God sent a series of 10 plagues to Egypt.
    — Holly Rizzuto Palker, Parents, 17 Sep. 2023
  • Any violent crime should, of course, be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
    — Charlotte Observer, 13 Feb. 2024
  • For Lalas, that’s punishing Mas for investing in his team and the league.
    — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024
  • If so, why should Pharaoh be punished for refusing to allow the Jews to leave Egypt?
    — Rabbi Avi Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 8 Jan. 2024
  • In fact, the public policy is that the state cannot punish a person based on the content of their speech.
    — Jack Greiner, The Enquirer, 3 July 2023
  • Alexander said the Khan case isn’t proof of greater fraud but proof that anyone who attempts it will be punished.
    — Mackenzie Mays, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
  • Now the judge handling the case must decide how severely she should be punished.
    — Joel Rosenblatt, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2023
  • Right now, being caught with less than three ounces can be punished with up to a $1,000 fine, but there’s no minimum.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 22 Feb. 2024
  • Sony could use some more buzz, and the company has quite the punishing collection of games coming in the next six months.
    — Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 7 Nov. 2023
  • Kalki is a kind of savior who will come to end bad times and punish the wicked, ushering in a new golden age for the world.
    — Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 25 Dec. 2023
  • No senior Post Office staff have been punished to date.
    — Sachin Ravikumar, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Jan. 2024
  • Two of those officers, Patrick Schultz and Eric Owen, had left the force already and were therefore not punished.
    — Andrew Wolfson, The Courier-Journal, 27 May 2023
  • But violating the measure could be punished with jail time, hard labor and fines up to $2,000.
    — Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 June 2023
  • Asher doesn’t want to hear this, and the other students really don’t want to hear this, and somehow Asher is the one who gets punished and kicked out of the class.
    — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2023
  • From the sound of things, Perry’s dad was a real piece of work, punishing the boy for reasons beyond his control.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 28 Oct. 2023
  • For that, anyone responsible should be punished, said Amy Parsons Justin’s cousin who was 8 years old when the boy died.
    — Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2024
  • Avoid punishing your future self and take the path that's more likely to fully satisfy you.
    — Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 30 July 2023
  • But those expressions of support don’t mean that voters will punish politicians who fail to act.
    — Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 May 2023
  • Seventh graders prepare to debate whether parents should be punished for the crimes of their minor children.
    — Emma Green, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
  • Heavy rains in winter — as well as a rare tropical storm in August — put an end to three years of punishing drought and made the landscape far less likely to burn.
    — Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2023
  • De Niro’s character, William Hale, is Ernest’s uncle and decides to punish his nephew by bending him over and spanking him.
    — Zack Sharf, Variety, 23 Oct. 2023
  • Banish the Blame Getting angry with your little one and punishing them for wetting the bed will only add pressure to stay dry—and will make the problem worse.
    — Dina Roth Port, Parents, 22 Aug. 2023
  • While Kwong stays on county payroll, the three physicians say they’ve been punished for complaining about his conduct.
    — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'punish.' 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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