Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Inflicting or aiming to inflict punishment; punishing.
  • noun plural Punitive damages.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to or involving punishment; awarding or inflicting punishment: as, punitive law or justice.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to punishment; involving, awarding, or inflicting punishment.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective law inflicting punishment, punishing

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective inflicting punishment

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin pūnītīvus, from Latin poenīre, pūnīre, to punish; see punish.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Medieval Latin punitivus, from pūniō ("I punish").

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Examples

  • And a recent note by Goldman Sachs said that, while the current environment for the large integrated oil firms was "challenging," it didn't justify current valuations, which it described as "punitive."

    Finding Value in Volatile Oil Sector Alexis Flynn 2011

  • The internal audits have armed state officials with a powerful new weapon as they seek to extract what they describe as punitive fines from lawbreaking mortgage companies.

    Confidential Federal Audits Accuse Five Biggest Mortgage Firms Of Defrauding Taxpayers [EXCLUSIVE] 2011

  • His first relationship with Pershing began in 1916 after Pancho Villa raided a New Mexican border town, and we had what they call the punitive expedition against Mexico to try to catch and punish Pancho Villa.

    Patton: A Genius for War 1996

  • Others say it helps nonprofessional traders avoid what they call the punitive trading fees levied by exchanges.

    Reuters: Top News 2010

  • Others say it helps nonprofessional traders avoid what they call the punitive trading fees levied by exchanges.

    Reuters: Top News 2010

  • Others say it helps nonprofessional traders avoid what they call the punitive trading fees levied by exchanges.

    Reuters: Top News 2010

  • Others say it helps nonprofessional traders avoid what they call the punitive trading fees levied by exchanges.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2010

  • Others say it helps nonprofessional traders avoid what they call the punitive trading fees levied by exchanges.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2010

  • Others say it helps nonprofessional traders avoid what they call the punitive trading fees levied by exchanges.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2010

  • "Now, the question is whether the Adam Welsh Act has taken it further," he said, speaking of what he characterized as the punitive nature of the 2003 amendments.

    Sex Offender Issues 2008

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