punish
/'pʌniʃ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To impose a penalty or negative consequence on someone for an offense, fault, or misbehavior.
- To cause someone to suffer for a wrongdoing, typically as a means of correction or retribution.
Examples of Usage
- Verb:
- The teacher had to punish the student for cheating on the exam.
- The law punishes dangerous driving with severe fines.
- How should we punish a child who tells a lie?
Advanced Usage
- "to punish severely/harshly": to give a very strict or severe penalty.
- The court decided to punish the corrupt official severely.
- "to punish oneself": to impose feelings of guilt or hardship on oneself, often mentally.
- He tends to punish himself for past mistakes.
- "to punish an opponent" (in sports/competition): to defeat an opponent decisively or exploit their weakness.
- The champion punished his rival's defensive errors.
Variants and Related Words
- Punishment (n): The act of punishing or the penalty imposed.
- The punishment must fit the crime.
- Punishable (adj): Describing an act that can or should be punished.
- Driving under the influence is a punishable offense.
- Punitive (adj): Intended as punishment; inflicting or involving punishment.
- The government imposed punitive tariffs.
Synonyms
- Penalize: To subject to a penalty, especially for breaking a rule.
- Discipline: To train or correct by punishment.
- Chastise: To reprimand or criticize severely.
Related Phrasal Verbs
(Note: "Punish" is not commonly used with particles to form standard phrasal verbs. Its meaning is typically conveyed directly or with adverbs.)
Related Idioms
- To throw the book at someone: To punish someone as severely as possible.
- The judge threw the book at the repeat offender.
- To get one's just deserts: To receive the punishment one deserves.
- The criminal finally got his just deserts.
Verb
- impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on
- The students were penalized for showing up late for class
- we had to punish the dog for soiling the floor again