Definitions for punishment
ˈpʌn ɪʃ məntpun·ish·ment

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. punishment, penalty, penalization, penalisationnoun

   the act of punishing

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.8 / 4 votes

1. punishmentnoun

   The act or process of punishing, imposing and/or applying a sanction.

2. punishmentnoun

   A penalty to punish wrongdoing, especially for crime.

3. punishmentnoun

   A suffering by pain or loss imposed as retribution

4. punishmentnoun

   Any treatment or experience so harsh it feels like being punished; rough handling

   a vehicle that can take a lot of punishment

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Punishmentnoun

   Any infliction imposed in vengeance of a crime.

   Etymology: punissement, Fr.

   The house of endless pain is built thereby,
   In which ten thousand sorts of punishments
   The cursed creatures do eternally torment. Fa. Queen.

   Unless it were a bloody murtherer,
   I never gave them condign punishment. William Shakespeare.

   Thou, through the judgment of God, shalt receive just punishment for thy pride. 2 Mac. vii. 36.

   Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? Job xxxi. 3.

   Had I a hundred mouths, a hundred tongues,
   I could not half those horrid crimes repeat,
   Nor half the punishments those crimes have met. Dryden.

   The rewards and punishments of another life, which the Almighty has established, as the enforcements of his law, are of weight enough to determine the choice, against whatever pleasure or pain this life can shew. John Locke.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Punishmentnoun

   the act of punishing

2. Punishmentnoun

   any pain, suffering, or loss inflicted on a person because of a crime or offense

3. Punishmentnoun

   a penalty inflicted by a court of justice on a convicted offender as a just retribution, and incidentally for the purposes of reformation and prevention

FreebaseRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Punishment

   Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something undesirable or unpleasant on, or the removal of something desirable or pleasant from, a person, animal, organization or entity in response to behavior deemed unacceptable by an individual, group or other entity. The authority may be either a group or a single person, and punishment may be carried out formally under a system of law or informally in other kinds of social settings such as within a family. Negative consequences that are not authorized or that are administered without a breach of rules are not considered to be punishment as defined here. The study and practice of the punishment of crimes, particularly as it applies to imprisonment, is called penology, or, often in modern texts, corrections; in this context, the punishment process is euphemistically called "correctional process". Research into punishment often includes similar research into prevention. Fundamental justifications for punishment include: retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitations such as isolation in order to prevent the wrongdoer's having contact with potential victims. Of the four justifications, only retribution is part of the definition of punishment and none of the other justifications is a guaranteed outcome.

The Roycroft DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. punishment

   1. The justice that the guilty deal out to those who are caught. 2. A perpetual fine, imposed hourly during the lifetime of a human being for his temerity in living, and continued in Heaven or Hell for his temerity in dying. 3. Among the poor and lowly, a service due the State for disobeying the mandates of the rich and powerful; among the rich, a slight reaction from overeating. (There are three kinds of punishment: the punishment of God, the punishment of man, and the punishment of living in Buffalo.)

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:4.3 / 4 votes

1. Punishment

   The application of an unpleasant stimulus or penalty for the purpose of eliminating or correcting undesirable behavior.

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. punishment

   The execution of the sentence against an offender, as awarded by a court-martial, or adjudged by a superior officer.

Matched Categories

1. • Social Control

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'punishment' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4026

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'punishment' in Nouns Frequency: #1565

Anagrams for punishment »

1. unshipment

How to pronounce punishment?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say punishment in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of punishment in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of punishment in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of punishment in a Sentence

1. Koon Chow:

   It's quite a bearish global market environment, there are concerns about global growth given the increase in trade tensions ... manifesting in punishment of currencies or countries that are open and do a lot of trade with the U.S. and China.

2. Dina Aronson:

   How can you enjoy healthy food so it's never a punishment and always a reward ? Figure out what it is you love, love barbecue ? Roast some cauliflower with barbecue rub. Delicious !

3. Donald Trump:

   Under this rule, if a pastor, priest or imam speaks about issues of public or political importance, they are threatened with the loss of their tax exempt status -- a crippling financial punishment, very, very unfair. But no longer.

4. Sari Bashi:

   The death penalty is an inherently cruel and irreversible punishment in all circumstances, it's particularly egregious to execute defendants sentenced in Gaza, whose court system is rife with coercion, torture and compromised procedures.

5. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf:

   I take this action only after significant consideration and reflection, there is perhaps no more weighty a responsibility assigned to the governor than his or her role as the final check in the capital punishment process.

Popularity rank by frequency of use