v. 25B6; verb
they punished their children : DISCIPLINE, bring someone to book, teach someone a lesson; tan someone's hide; informal murder, wallop, come down on (like a ton of bricks), have someone's guts for garters; Brit. informal give someone what for; dated chastise.
higher charges would punish the poor : PENALIZE, unfairly disadvantage, handicap, hurt, wrong, ill-use, maltreat.
the strikers punished the defence's mistakes : EXPLOIT, take advantage of, turn to account, profit from, capitalize on, cash in on; informal walk all over.