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
Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
But punitive measures hardly seem to have slowed their roll.
—Adriana Lee, WWD, 4 Nov. 2024
Yet, critics contend that the wall represents a misguided allocation of resources, with many experts arguing that immigration challenges require comprehensive reforms rather than punitive measures.
—Brian Bennett, TIME, 3 Nov. 2024
These are punitive settings, not therapeutic settings.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for punitive 
Dictionary Entries Near punitive
Cite this Entry
“Punitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punitive. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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punitive
adjective
Legal Definition
punitive
adjective
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