ˈpənish, -nēsh, esp in pres part -nəsh verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English punissen, from Middle French puniss-, stem of punir, from Latin punire, from Old Latin poenire, irregular from poena penalty — more at pain
transitive verb
1. : to impose a penalty (as of pain, suffering, shame, strict restraint, or loss) upon for some fault, offense, or violation:
a. : to afflict (a person) with such a penalty for an offense
the respectable not only obey the law, but punish … those who refuse to do so — Times Literary Supplement
b. : to inflict a penalty for (an offense) in retribution or retaliation
the Sedition Act of 1798, designed to punish attacks on the federal administration — Zechariah Chafee
2.
a. : to deal with roughly or harshly
the wife … who punished him with frenetic fits of nerves — Oscar Handlin
b. : to inflict injury or loss upon : hurt
the ships were considerably punished by the batteries — P.G.Mackesy
if you fined or imprisoned a man you punished his wife and children — Arnold Bennett
c. : deplete , consume
punish a bottle of port
3. : to score freely from (bowling or a bowler) : flog — used of a batsman in cricket
intransitive verb
: to inflict punishment
a punishing race
a punishing defeat
Synonyms:
chastise , chasten , discipline , correct , castigate : punish indicates some retribution inflicted after a fault, disobedience, or wrongdoing, usually conscious or purposive; it may refer to any kind of transgression and any kind of penalty
looked after a little more strictly than other children, and perhaps punished more — Margaret Deland
no misdemeanor should be punished more severely than the most atrocious felonies — T.B.Macaulay
chastise is likely to suggest infliction of corporal pain, especially by a parent, elder, or superior, and with the hope of effecting a reformation
the father had to go over and give them a box or two on the ears, to quiet them down, but it turned into skylarking instead of chastising — O.E.Rölvaag
chasten is likely to suggest any affliction or trial, ranging from corporal punishment to worry, chagrin, tribulation, or duress, which leaves one humbled, more moderate, less extreme
to devise means for chastening the stubborn heart of her husband — Rudyard Kipling
heavier fines and jail sentences followed by disqualification from driving for life … would chasten most reckless and drunken drivers — Priscilla Hughes
discipline may involve punishing; it always suggests action in the interest of order, regularity, rule, or control by authority
among the first recorded motions of the magistrates of the new court was the disciplining of Thomas Williams, who had said he did not see why the Duke of York had been such a fool as to make them the judges — American Guide Series: Delaware
correct may indicate chastening or punishing in the interest of amending or reforming, of guiding away from errors and lapses
must know how to correct without wounding — J.M.Barzun
castigate is likely to indicate a bitter, tongue-lashing denunciation or reprimand rather than any other form of punishment
courageously patronizes democracy in England, and with equal courage castigates it at home — W.C.Brownell