punish
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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US district judge Rita Lin said in the ruling that citing national security "is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics".
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
The perverse endgame is thus fully available—forgo the measures that will hurt Moscow but punish Brussels, Tokyo and Seoul.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
After all, the market will punish them later for falling short.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which is helping represent Prabhakar, argues that public colleges may establish curriculum requirements but cannot punish professors merely because administrators dislike ideas expressed in relevant course material.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
“Sonny, I’m not going to punish you at all,” she said.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
No sport punishes winning as ruthlessly as pro football.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
To recap: Purcell punishes a plaintiff in voting cases for being too late to court.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
Ahmed: Of course, like this idea of searching for your identity in a world that either commodifies it or punishes it, that’s something I relate to.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
"However we believe this must be done in a way that supports rather than punishes Welsh households, businesses and our farming sector."
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
The walk home is a steep one, and I wonder if it’s yet another way she punishes herself.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
Officers who abuse their position are "horrible", Langley said, adding that they should be punished with more than just dismissal.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
In the near term, the market has punished many of these companies for their spending plans.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Violence should be punished, not rewarded, and attention should only be given for positive behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Higher crude costs threaten to widen India’s import bill and push up inflation, and have punished the rupee, which has weakened more than 6% against the dollar this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Why should I be punished just because I wasn’t a teenager yet?
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Based in The Hague, the ICC was created in 1998 to cement the role of international law in punishing the worst human rights abuses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
One of the factors that weighed the most heavily in the court’s decision again was that Indiana was punishing speech about something that was legal and protected in other states.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
Hochman said last week that he wanted to thread the needle between punishing the illegal recording and not dissuading whistleblowers from coming forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Feeling dizzy and unwell after cycling to work in Japan's punishing summer heat, warehouse worker Isao Tabuchi headed for his company's newest acquisition: a refrigerator for humans.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
I had made him know that I felt he was cruel and I had done it without his punishing me.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Vocabulary lists containing punish
Louder than Hunger
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"Seeking Freedom"
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