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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

punitive en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈpju.nɪ.tɪv/

Etymology

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

Meanings

  1. Inflicting punishment; punishing.
    • The council took punitive measures against poachers.
    • But Judge Alex W. Gabert, in a Rio Grande City courtroom, ordered the punitive damage reduced to conform to a 2003 Texas law that caps punitive damages at twice the amount of economic damages — lost pay — and up to $750,000 on top of noneconomic damages. 2006 December 22, “Judge Cuts Amount of Vioxx Award”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 12 Jul 2022, retrieved 07 Jun 2011:
    • The jury awarded $10,000 in punitive damages.
    • Beijing imposed punitive sanctions on Canada.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
most punitive Degree=Sup lexicographic
more punitive Degree=Cmp lexicographic

Antonyms

unpunitive · nonpunitive

Deriveds

punitive tariff · impunitive · punitive populism · intropunitive · punitive damages · punitivism · punitively · unpunitive · nonpunitive · punitiveness

Hypernyms

retaliatory

Hyponyms

extrapunitive · intropunitive

Relateds

punishment · vengeful · inflictive · penal · rehabilitative

Synonyms

punitory · vindicatory · vindictive · castigatory · punishmental · castigatory · punitory · punitive

Translations (17)

pl karny (punishing) · sv straff- (punishing) · cs trestný (punishing) · fr punitif (punishing) · es punitivo (punishing) · pt punitivo (punishing) · el ποινικός (punishing) · bg наказателен (punishing) · ro punitiv (punishing) · de Straf- (punishing) · ru кара́тельный (punishing) · uk кара́льний (punishing) · de strafend (punishing) · cy cosbol (punishing) · it punitivo (punishing) · eo puna (punishing) · ca punitiu (punishing)