as in to punish
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime
the player was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of penalize
The White House also penalized India, one of the biggest buyers of Russian crude in recent years.
—
Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
Generally speaking, courts have ruled against people who violate a religious-neutral law while practicing their religion, including a notable 1990 case that found a man’s religious peyote use could still be penalized under an Oregon law forbidding it.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2026
DeBrincat opened the scoring by converting a rebound in front five seconds after Josh Norris was penalized for high sticking.
—ABC News, 27 Mar. 2026
However, critics, many of them creators in countries with small X userbases who rely on international audiences, warned that the policy would penalize them for posting in English or covering topics with global appeal.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for penalize
Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
Generally speaking, courts have ruled against people who violate a religious-neutral law while practicing their religion, including a notable 1990 case that found a man’s religious peyote use could still be penalized under an Oregon law forbidding it.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2026
DeBrincat opened the scoring by converting a rebound in front five seconds after Josh Norris was penalized for high sticking.
—ABC News, 27 Mar. 2026
However, critics, many of them creators in countries with small X userbases who rely on international audiences, warned that the policy would penalize them for posting in English or covering topics with global appeal.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for penalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penalize
punish
Verb
-
Moderate exercise helps, but high-intensity overtraining can raise cortisol further, worth knowing if punishing workouts are already part of a stressed routine.—
Allison Palmer,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2026
-
On Wednesday morning, that tally stood at a hefty seven hundred and thirty-four, with cases ranging from the President’s immigration policies to his dismantling of disfavored agencies to his effort to punish law firms to his ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Penalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penalize. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
