punishing
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Extremely demanding, severe, or arduous: Causing great physical or mental strain, often to the point of exhaustion.
- Inflicting punishment; punitive: Designed or intended to inflict a penalty or severe consequence.
Examples of Usage
- Adjective (Extremely demanding):
- The marathon was a punishing test of endurance.
- He maintained a punishing schedule of meetings and travel.
- The boxer absorbed a series of punishing blows.
- Adjective (Inflicting punishment):
- The judge imposed a punishing fine on the corporation.
- The team suffered a punishing defeat in the championship game.
Advanced Usage
- Used figuratively: Often describes non-physical challenges that are severe or harsh.
- The company faced punishing criticism from the media.
- The punishing heat made it impossible to work outside.
Variants and Related Words
- Punish (verb): To inflict a penalty on someone for an offense.
- The law exists to punish criminals.
- Punishment (noun): The act of punishing or the penalty inflicted.
- The punishment must fit the crime.
- Punitive (adjective): Inflicting or intended as punishment.
- The country faced punitive economic sanctions.
Synonyms
- Arduous: Involving or requiring strenuous effort; difficult and tiring.
- Grueling: Extremely tiring and demanding.
- Severe: (Of something bad or undesirable) very great; intense.
- Taxing: Physically or mentally demanding.
Related Phrases
- Punishing pace: A speed or rate of work that is extremely demanding and difficult to maintain.
- The new manager set a punishing pace for the project.
Adjective
- characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort
- worked their arduous way up the mining valley
- a grueling campaign
- hard labor
- heavy work
- heavy going
- spent many laborious hours on the project
- set a punishing pace
- resulting in punishment
- the king imposed a punishing tax