Synonyms for punishment
ˈpʌn ɪʃ məntpun·ish·ment

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:3.4 / 7 votes

1. punishmentnoun

   Synonyms:
   punition, castigation, beating

   Antonyms:
   reward

2. punishmentnoun

   The act or process of punishing, imposing and/or applying a sanction.

   Synonyms:
   beating, castigation, punition

   Antonyms:
   reward

3. punishmentnoun

   A penalty to punish wrongdoing, especially for crime.

   Synonyms:
   beating, punition, castigation

   Antonyms:
   reward

4. punishmentnoun

   A suffering by pain or loss imposed as retribution

   Synonyms:
   castigation, punition, beating

   Antonyms:
   reward

5. punishmentnoun

   Any treatment or experience so harsh it feels like being punished; rough handling

   a vehicle that can take a lot of punishment

   Synonyms:
   beating, punition, castigation

   Antonyms:
   reward

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.0 / 1 vote

1. punishment

   Synonyms:
   cruelty, hardness, harshness, implacability, justice, penalty, revenge, rigor, severity, sternness, vengeance

   Antonyms:
   benevolence, benignity, blessing, clemency, compassion, favor, forbearance, forgiveness, gentleness, grace, kindness, lenience, leniency, lenity, mercy, mildness, pardon, pardon, pity, tenderness

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:1.9 / 8 votes

1. punishment, penalty, penalization, penalisationnoun

   the act of punishing

   Synonyms:
   penalty, penalization, penalisation

Matched Categories

1. • Social Control

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. punishmentnoun

   Synonyms:
   chastisement, correction, discipline, penalty

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. punishmentnoun

   Synonyms:
   chastisement, castigation, scourging, discipline, penalty, visitation, retaliation, retribution, infliction

   Antonyms:
   immunity, impunity, acquittal, exoneration

   Associated words:
   penal, penology, punitive, penologist, penological, reprieve, commute, commutation, nemesis, connivance

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "punishment":

   penalty, chastisement, sentence, sanction, penalties, punish, sentences, suppression, retribution, punishing, assent, sanctions, worth, death, repression, penalization, corporal, punishments, tangible, pity, sentencing, pena, penalisation

How to pronounce punishment?

How to say punishment in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use punishment in a sentence?

1. Miles Scott:

   . Earlier on Wednesday, Scotts 17-year-old son made an emotional plea for the judge to sentence Slager to the maximum punishment of life in prison. My dad will never see my future kids, his grandchildren, and I know he would have loved them as much as he loved me, i still can’t believe he’s gone.

2. Judge Kang Seong-soo:

   The defendants are well-known celebrities and friends, but the chat they've had showed that they simply considered women as objects of sexual pleasure, and committed crimes that were extremely serious, strict punishment is inevitable as the damage inflicted has not properly been recovered and the victims demand harsh penalties.

3. Anthony Kennedy:

   Perhaps it can be established that, due to exceptional circumstances, this fate was a just and proportionate punishment for the crime Henry Montgomery committed as a 17 year old boy.

4. Michael Fries:

   There is a presumption of guilt and a punishment of success that this industry has achieved that I have never witnessed in my life.

5. Pope Francis:

   I also offer encouragement to all those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation.