penalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to subject to a penalty, as a person.
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to declare (an action, deed, etc.) punishable by law or rule.
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to put under a disadvantage or handicap.
verb
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to impose a penalty on (someone), as for breaking a law or rule
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to inflict a handicap or disadvantage on
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sport to award a free stroke, point, or penalty against (a player or team)
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to declare (an act) legally punishable; make subject to a penalty
Other Word Forms
- nonpenalized adjective
- overpenalization noun
- overpenalize verb (used with object)
- penalizable adjective
- penalization noun
- repenalize verb (used with object)
- unpenalized adjective
Etymology
Origin of penalize
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He spearheaded the concept of “secondary sanctions” to penalize even non-U.S. firms for doing business with the regime, angering Europe.
If they violate their trade pacts, Washington could also further penalize them under well-established laws.
From Barron's
"But yet the other way around, we seem to be penalized for it."
From Barron's
It penalizes exporters that lack the technological and financial capacity to decarbonize at the pace required by the Europeans.
From Barron's
“Being denied coverage after meeting safety standards sends the wrong message and is akin to being penalized for doing the right thing.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
