How to Use punitive in a Sentence

punitive

adjective
  • 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.
  • The fall from third to fourth isn't too punitive - the fourth-worst record has a 48.1% shot at a top four pick.
    — Rahat Huq, Chron, 7 Feb. 2022
  • That may take some of the punitive bite from the Western sanctions.
    — Allison Morrow, CNN, 2 Mar. 2022
  • To put an end to the punitive drills, the teen had to do one thing: eat a pepperoni pizza.
    — Washington Post, 3 Jan. 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
  • This drama could hardly have played out in a worse place; the city has endured some of the world's most punitive lockdowns.
    — Stephen Collinson, CNN, 11 Jan. 2022
  • The penalty for moving the Spurs would be punitive, according to the agreement.
    — Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, 21 June 2021
  • The process is not punitive and not designed to shame those facing a criminal charge.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 2 Jan. 2025
  • Barring you from the house is a serious case of punitive excess.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2023
  • But punitive measures hardly seem to have slowed their roll.
    — Adriana Lee, WWD, 4 Nov. 2024
  • One justice, Mike Bolin, urged the Legislature to make the law more punitive.
    — al, 12 Jan. 2022
  • The jurors never discussed the punitive award, so Svitenko does not know what that verdict would have been.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 5 Feb. 2025
  • In a punitive culture, teams walk on eggshells to avoid making mistakes.
    — John Hall, Forbes, 6 June 2021
  • In the Senate, the punitive measure has been used more sparingly.
    — Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2025
  • 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
  • Give me a break, the Club bank stock is currently at $75, with runway to go higher when the Fed lifts its punitive asset cap.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 3 Dec. 2024
  • Bobert’s campaign may face punitive action for the payments, as the FEC made clear in its August letter.
    — Zach Everson, Forbes, 22 Sep. 2021
  • 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
  • To not provide the vaccine and also issue a travel ban, is rather punitive.
    — Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Dec. 2021
  • Trump also said Green was an embarrassment and called for punitive action against him.
    — Washington Examiner Staff, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Mar. 2025
  • If Beijing fails to deliver, Washington can always return to more punitive actions.
    — Vanda Felbab-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 17 Feb. 2025

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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