as in to punish
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime
the player was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct
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Recent Examples of penalize
Taboo Words This game penalizes players who say the wrong words.
—
Mary Alice Russell, Southern Living, 28 Dec. 2025
Perryman was penalized for unnecessary roughness, but he wasn’t ejected from the game for his second-quarter tackle during the Chargers’ 34-17 victory.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 25 Dec. 2025
One provision in the law penalizes companies for raising prices too sharply from year to year.
—Berkeley Lovelace Jr, NBC news, 25 Dec. 2025
States should be incentivized to expand Medicaid and penalized for harmful redetermination practices.
—Uché Blackstock, Time, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penalize
punish
Verb
-
The one who hunted and punished you now celebrates your courage.—
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Anyone who’s been judged, rejected, or ghosted for doing so knows how punishing that vulnerability can be.—
Cite this Entry
“Penalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penalize. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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