PUNISHED Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

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

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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 The Brewers eventually turned to first baseman Andrew Vaughn to pitch for the final two innings, and the Cubs punished him, knocking in seven runs, including three home runs. — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026 In Brussels’ view, those weaknesses create a direct risk that EU funds can be misused without such abuse being properly detected or punished. — Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 30 Aug. 2026 Anthropic’s primary tech industry rival, ChatGPT maker OpenAI, made its own deal to work with the Pentagon just hours after the government punished Anthropic for its stance. — Kaitlyn Huamani, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026 This was punished for Fulham’s second goal, when Castagne’s positioning caused problems again. — Liam Tharme, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 The precedent comes from a landmark case called Tinker v Des Moines, in which students were punished for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. — Daniel Rivero, Sun Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026 The teacher was one of several interviewed for this story who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of being punished or fired for speaking out on the topic. — Jessica Meszaros, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026 If a team were punished because of communications that contributed to a player on the team signing a deal with a team sponsor, the player could argue that such a move would have a chilling effect on his endorsement opportunities. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 20 Aug. 2026 Consider the mythic fates of Icarus, Prometheus, Hercules—all were punished rather severely for trying to expand knowledge, to make progress. — Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for punished

Verb

The penalties are a key point because, though the judge could clear the players to be eligible, a school may still be reluctant to risk being penalized by the conference.

— Seth Emerson, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Be aware of early withdrawal penalties While how much you'll be penalized will vary depending on the bank, almost all CD accounts do employ an early withdrawal fee.

— Matt Richardson, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of penalized

Verb

In July, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison and two years of supervised release and fined $3,000.

— Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
In 2014, the late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was suspended for six games and fined $500,000 after pleading guilty to driving while impaired.

— Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of fined

Verb

The 63-year-old Davis was convicted Monday of murder with the use of a deadly weapon and could be sentenced to life in prison.

— Jonathan Landrum Jr, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
The Seoul Central District Court convicted Han, widow of church founder Sun Myung Moon, of violating the political funds act, bribery and embezzling church funds, the court said in a statement.

— ABC News, ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of convicted

Verb

The move came days after Stephens publicly criticized EMCC and Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference leadership over changes to the league’s football schedule and playoff format.

— Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also defended the decision to increase bond purchases earlier last month, after investor Stanley Druckenmiller criticized the move.

— Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of criticized

Verb

But Seminole’s Special Magistrate Sherry Sutphen chastised Moncrief, a resident of The Springs neighborhood, for likely damaging the river’s ecology behind his home and obstructing its natural flow.

— Martin E. Comas, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2026
The Lynx, bolstered by the addition of Miles, chastised the Valkyries again like a sister simply too big, too strong and too confident.

— Marcus Thompson II, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of chastised

Verb

The complaint asks a Cook County judge to issue a fine of $11,500 for every day the violations are not corrected.

— Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
The mayor and superintendent of schools disputed the claims, saying all city schools already are regularly monitored and inspected and issues corrected in a district that takes safety very seriously.

— Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of corrected

Browse Nearby Words

punishable

punished

punisher

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“Punished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punished. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of punished

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