punitive
adjective
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Punitive and the Law
Punitive is an important word in the law. When you sue a person or company for having wronged you in some way, you normally ask for something of value equal to what you were deprived of by the other party. But when the defendant has done something particularly bad, you may also ask for punitive damages, money over and above the actual cost of the harm done, intended to teach the defendant a lesson. Punitive damages are fairly rare, but when they're actually granted they may be as much as four times the size of the basic damages.
Synonyms
Examples of punitive in a Sentence
Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Nov. 2024
The filing requests a jury trial, with the 29-year-old seeking compensatory, punitive, and statutory damages.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 1 Nov. 2024
Pete is requesting a jury trial and hopes to recover compensatory, punitive, and statutory damages.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2024
For the moment, Russia and Iran remain Assad’s most crucial allies, but other countries have recently chosen to take a less punitive approach to his government, despite the sanctions risks.
—Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near punitive
Cite this Entry
“Punitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punitive. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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punitive
adjective
Legal Definition
punitive
adjective
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