How to Use punitive in a Sentence

punitive

adjective
Definition of punitivenext
Synonyms for punitivenext
  • Lobbyists complain that the bill would impose punitive taxes on the industry.
  • The federal government will take punitive action against the company that polluted the river.
  • That may take some of the punitive bite from the Western sanctions.
    — Allison Morrow, CNN, 2 Mar. 2022
  • The failure-to-pay penalty is less punitive than the one for failing to file.
    — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2022
  • But the punitive award wasn’t the highest Bellis could have imposed.
    — Laurel Calkins, Fortune, 10 Nov. 2022
  • Newsom’s order opened the door for more punitive actions across the state.
    — Deyanira Nevárez Martínez, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2024
  • Extreme punitive measures The hijab has long been a point of contention in Iran.
    — Celine Alkhaldi, CNN, 2 Aug. 2023
  • Barring you from the house is a serious case of punitive excess.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2023
  • In Georgia, 75% of proceeds from punitive damage verdicts go to the state.
    — Robert Burnson, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Aug. 2022
  • None of the officers were removed from their jobs, and the reprimands were non-punitive, the spokesperson said.
    — Andrew Dyer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2022
  • This was just the latest of a series of punitive measures meant to discourage refugees.
    — Ursula Lindsey, The New York Review of Books, 6 July 2022
  • The court struck down Jim Crow laws, expanded the franchise, and erected guardrails to constrain the punitive machinery of the state.
    — Ian MacDougall, Harper’s Magazine , 28 Sep. 2022
  • Her punitive response to the breakup is a different story, though, and strikes me as the cherry on the Jack’s-good-judgment sundae.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 28 June 2023
  • The 7th Circuit sent the case back to the trial court to determine whether the ordinance is also punitive.
    — Bruce Vielmetti, Journal Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2022
  • About five minutes into the first 7 on 7 period, that crowd got a good look of Devin Brown running his first punitive lap of camp.
    — Nathan Baird, cleveland, 3 Aug. 2023
  • These are crisp red flags around the boyfriend — of stubbornness, a punitive us-vs.-them worldview, a fragile ego and a taste for seizing control.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2023
  • The program helps those who may have been involved with the court or punitive systems, Hines said, but is also open to serving any kind of in-need youth.
    — Caroline Beck, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Aug. 2022
  • The punitive nature of some of the laws that have been passed in Texas and other states would lead to women performing abortions on themselves.
    — Katherine Stuart Van Wormer, Washington Post, 20 June 2022
  • That may be why so much of this story, despite the dedication of Vartolomei in the leading role, feels punitive and pinched.
    — The New Yorker, 6 May 2022
  • The turn to criminal law and punitive measures to address public health issues is not new in and of itself.
    — Mary Ziegler and Aziza Ahmed, CNN, 23 Mar. 2022
  • But the version that came out of committee this week lost that punitive component.
    — Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 2 Feb. 2024
  • The harsh terms of that peace, with further punitive demands against the Germans in the Treaty of Versailles, sowed the seeds of a German discontent that would help launch the next world war 21 years later.
    — Nick Yetto, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 June 2023
  • There’s nothing much worse than spending an evening with a group of people who are about to start a diet, a punitive exercise regime, a detox or a fast.
    — Time, 30 Dec. 2022
  • So owners have to be planning for the potential for more punitive estate taxes in the coming years.
    — Robert Frank, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2024
  • In many cases, it was used as a punitive measure rather than being deployed just to keep staff and other children safe.
    — Rachel Smith, The Courier-Journal, 15 May 2024
  • He was expected to announce a series of punitive measures against the Palestinians later in the evening.
    — Isabel Debre, ajc, 28 Jan. 2023
  • The law in Missouri mimics these moves from the war on drugs in its emphasis on being punitive rather than reducing harm.
    — Mary Ziegler and Aziza Ahmed, CNN, 23 Mar. 2022
  • This is not punitive; it is designed to protect the person in need -- as well as the family and community around them.
    — Byjohn Cohen, ABC News, 7 July 2022
  • How, then, are FBAR penalties deemed to be remedial as opposed to punitive?
    — Robert Goulder, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
  • Consider the proposal that Trump has floated on the campaign trail: a 20 percent tariff on all imports coupled with a 60 percent punitive tariff on those from China.
    — Michael B. G. Froman, Foreign Affairs, 3 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'punitive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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