Punish

• POS: Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: pun=ish

CIDE DICTIONARY

Punish, v. t. [OE. punischen, F. punir, from L. punire, punitum, akin to poena punishment, penalty. See Pain, and -ish.].

•  To impose a penalty upon; to afflict with pain, loss, or suffering for a crime or fault, either with or without a view to the offender's amendment; to cause to suffer in retribution; to chasten; as, to punish traitors with death; a father punishes his child for willful disobedience.  [1913 Webster]

  "A greater power
  Now ruled him, punished in the shape he sinned."  [1913 Webster]
•  To inflict a penalty for (an offense) upon the offender; to repay, as a fault, crime, etc., with pain or loss; as, to punish murder or treason with death.  [1913 Webster]
•  To injure, as by beating; to pommel.  [1913 Webster]
•  To deal with roughly or harshly; -- chiefly used with regard to a contest; as, our troops punished the enemy.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

Syn. -- To chastise; castigate; scourge; whip; lash; correct; discipline. See Chasten.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Punish, v.tr.
1 cause (an offender) to suffer for an offence.
2 inflict a penalty for (an offence).
3 colloq. inflict severe blows on (an opponent).
4 a tax severely; subject to severe treatment. b abuse or treat improperly.

Derivative

punishable adj. punisher n. punishing adj. (in sense 4a). punishingly adv.

Etymology

ME f. OF punir f. L punire = poenire f. poena penalty

THESAURUS

Punish

abuse, admonish, agonize, amerce, avenge, banish, batter, be quits, beat, beat up, birch, bloody, bring to account, bring to book, call to account, cane, cashier, castigate, chasten, chastise, claw, convulse, correct, criticize, crucify, damage, deal with, discipline, draw and quarter, dress down, electrocute, even the score, excommunicate, excruciate, execute, exile, fine, fix, flog, get even with, handicap, hang, harm, harrow, hurt, impale, imprison, incarcerate, inflict upon, injure, kill by inches, knock about, knock around, lacerate, lambaste, lancinate, lash, lock up, macerate, make quits, maltreat, manhandle, martyr, martyrize, masthead, maul, mulct, paddle, penalize, pillory, polish off, put away, put down, rack, rebuke, reprove, revenge, rip, rough up, savage, scarify, scold, scourge, send down, send up, settle the score, settle with, shift, spank, square accounts, swill, take revenge, take to task, tar and feather, thrash, torment, torture, trounce, visit upon, whip, wring

ROGET THESAURUS

Punish

Punishment

VB punish, chastise, chasten, castigate, correct, inflict punishment, administer correction, deal retributive justice, cowhide, lambaste, visit upon, pay, pay out, serve out, do for, make short work of, give a lesson to, serve one right, make an example of, have a rod in pickle for, give it one, strike, deal a blow to, administer the lash, smite, slap, slap the face, smack, cuff, box the ears, spank, thwack, thump, beat, lay on, swinge, buffet, thresh, thrash, pummel, drub, leather, trounce, sandbag, baste, belabor, lace, lace one's jacket, dress, dress down, give a dressing, trim, warm, wipe, tund, cob, bang, strap, comb, lash, lick, larrup, wallop, whop, flog, scourge, whip, birch, cane, give the stick, switch, flagellate, horsewhip, bastinado, towel, rub down with an oaken towel, rib roast, dust one's jacket, fustigate, pitch into, lay about one, beat black and blue, beat to a mummy, beat to a jelly, give a black eye, tar and feather, pelt, stone, lapidate, masthead, keelhaul, execute, bring to the block, bring to the gallows, behead, decapitate, guillotine, decollate, hang, turn off, gibbet, bowstring, hang draw and quarter, shoot, decimate, burn, break on the wheel, crucify, empale, impale, flay, lynch, electrocute, gas, send to the gas chamber, torture, put on, put to the rack, picket, banish, exile, transport, expel, ostracize, rusticate, drum out, dismiss, disbar, disbench, strike off the roll, unfrock, post, suffer, suffer for, suffer punishment, be flogged, be executed, suffer the ultimate penalty, be hanged, come to the gallows, mount the gallows, swing, twist in the wind, dance upon nothing, die in one's shoes, be rightly served, be electrocuted, fry, ride the lightning, face the firing squad.