Dictionary

punishingly en · ADV

Etymology

Etymology tree English punishing Middle English -ly English -ly English punishingly From punishing + -ly.

Meanings

1. So as to punish.
2. In a way that is tiring or exhausting.
   • punishingly hot weather
   • Bill Clinton was elected on an untenable premise: that it is the job of the President to manage the economy. Yes, that is what we have come to expect of Presidents; but this expectation, the author argues, is punishingly at variance with anything any President can credibly deliver[.] 1993 July 14, Charles R. Morris, “It's Not the Economy, Stupid”, in The Atlantic, →ISSN, archived from the original on 28 Nov 2025:

Forms