punish

Punish is to impose suffering or penalty, or to treat someone in an harsh manner.

(verb)

When you make your child stand in the corner for doing something bad, this is an example of when you punish your child.
When a tax cut ends up costing the middle class money, this is an example of when tax cuts punish the middle class.

See punish in Webster's New World College Dictionary

transitive verb

Origin: ME punischen < extended stem of OFr punir < L punire, to punish < poena, punishment, penalty: see penal

intransitive verb

to deal out punishment

Related Forms:

See punish in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb pun·ished, pun·ish·ing, pun·ish·es

verb, transitive

To subject to a penalty for an offense, sin, or fault.
To inflict a penalty for (an offense).
To handle roughly; hurt: My boots were punished by our long trek through the desert.

verb, intransitive

To exact or mete out punishment.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English punissen, punishen

Origin: , from Old French punir, puniss-

Origin: , from Latin poenīre, pūnīre

Origin: , from poena, punishment

Origin: , from Greek poinē; see k^wei-¹ in Indo-European roots

Related Forms: