punitive

CEFRC1

/ˈpju.nɪ.tɪv/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Intended to punish someone rather than help them.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Inflicting punishment; punishing.

Examples

  • Jail is a very harsh punitive measure.

  • We award punitive damages in the amount of two million dollars.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
2
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1
Synonyms
2

Deep Dive

More examples

In context

  • The council took punitive measures against poachers.

  • The jury awarded $10,000 in punitive damages.

  • Beijing imposed punitive sanctions on Canada.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The new law includes blank penalties for companies that repeatedly break safety rules.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle French punitif, from Medieval Latin pūnitīvus, from pūniō (“to punish”).