punished

verb

past tense of punish
as in penalized
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

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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 punished Owners have been previously punished for violating the personal conduct policy. — ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, in England and the United States and across continental Europe, statutes that punished idleness sharpened into vagrancy laws that gave police discretionary power to identify when a form of nonaction constituted criminal disorder. — Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026 The accused were sometimes seriously punished—stripped and whipped in a town square. — S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026 Others worried the curfew could lead to over-policing of teens of color and that parents would be unfairly punished for their kids’ behavior. — Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 29 Sep. 2026 He will be punished, defense says Facing the jury, Brenner said they will be exposed to horrific photographs that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 29 Sep. 2026 Those that protect and lightly sentence men that rape and destroy, should be punished and watched closely. — Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026 Survivors from Hamas’s attack on the Nova Festival spoke, with one of them saying Abraham and Szor should be punished for their film. — Hannah Seligson, Vanity Fair, 28 Sep. 2026 The relationship with the older woman ended after it was discovered, but the only person punished for it was the ethics officer who first reported the situation; he was caught up in accusations and counteraccusations for years. — Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punished
  1. penalized
  2. fined
  3. sentenced
  4. convicted
  5. criticized
  6. disciplined
  7. chastised
  8. corrected
Verb
  • New state legislation signed into law last month gives the FPPC the power to refer alleged violators to law enforcement for possible misdemeanor charges, and violations can be penalized with a fine of up to $5,000 per instance.
    — Ben Wieder, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • During Texas' 20-17 win, Simmons was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for mimicking urinating on the field after one of his school-record 5 1/2 sacks.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of penalized
Verb
  • The Storm was forced to acknowledge the incident and apologized, before the WNBA later fined Keaton and suspended her from Seattle’s next five home games.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Delane, who was taken by the Chiefs in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft out of LSU, was fined $12,537 for unnecessary roughness on a low block.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of fined
Verb
  • Ramanan entered a plea agreement last year and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
    — Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Nearly a year later, Brazil’s courts convicted Eduardo of coercion and sentenced him to four years and two months in prison.
    — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of sentenced
Verb
  • Hasan was convicted of carrying out the attack, which killed 14 people at the Texas military base, including an unborn baby, before a military jury and was sentenced to death in 2013.
    — Robert Blankenship, The Washington Examiner, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The White House has formally sent Congress proposed legislation that would impose mandatory minimum sentences on those convicted of fraud involving federal benefit programs, according to a copy of it seen by Semafor.
    — Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of convicted
Verb
  • Osborn has been traveling across Nebraska to hold meetings in all 93 counties and has repeatedly criticized Ricketts for not holding town halls to meet with constituents.
    — NICHOLAS INGRAM, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Hinojosa has campaigned on her tenure as a civil rights lawyer and criticized Abbott’s crime policies as violating civil liberties.
    — Matt Brown, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of criticized
Verb
  • The audit said the state agency’s leadership disciplined the officer but did not provide any details.
    — Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The biracial student and her family learned of the post, and the white student was disciplined.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of disciplined
Verb
  • Anderson and Lago chastised Castro, accusing her of using city funds to help cover personal expenses to attend her ethics hearing.
    — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Frett then headed to Judge Guy Mitchell’s courtroom, where court officers chastised him for talking on his phone and refusing to take down his hoodie.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of chastised
Verb
  • An earlier version of this story was corrected to describe the suspect as the former head of foreign, not domestic, intelligence.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
  • But many of Lamont’s fellow Democrats say the fiscally moderate governor has over-corrected, saving too aggressively, to the detriment of health care, education, social services and other core programs.
    — Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of corrected

Browse Nearby Words

punishable
punished
punisher
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Cite this Entry

“Punished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punished. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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