punish

/ˈpʌnɪʃ/

//ˈpʌnɪʃ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"punish" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“punish” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,726 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#7,726
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To cause (a child, student, or someone else being looked after, or a suspect or criminal) to suffer for crime or misconduct, to administer disciplinary action, typically by an authority or a person...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

punish vs push
67% similar
punish vs puns
67% similar
punish vs punks
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for punish
PropertyValue
Headwordpunish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpʌnɪʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,726
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “punish” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). punish lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for punish is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpʌnɪʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,726 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for punish, with forms such as "pnuish", "ppunish", and "puinsh". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "push", "puns", "punks", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English punischen, from Anglo-Norman, Old French puniss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of punir, from Latin puniō (“I inflict punishment upon”), from poena (“punishment, penalty”); see pain. Displaced Old English wītnian and (mostly, in … The correct English form is punish, spelled P-U-N-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cause (a child, student, or someone else being looked after, or a suspect or criminal) to suffer for crime or misconduct, to administer disciplinary action, typically by an authority or a person in authority (for example: a parent, teacher, or police officer).
  2. 2
    To treat harshly and unfairly.
  3. 3
    To handle or beat severely; to maul.
  4. 4
    To consume a large quantity of.

Etymology

From Middle English punischen, from Anglo-Norman, Old French puniss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of punir, from Latin puniō (“I inflict punishment upon”), from poena (“punishment, penalty”); see pain. Displaced Old English wītnian and (mostly, in this sense) wrecan.

Synonyms

amercecastigatechastenchastisecome down oncorrectfix someone's wagonhave someone's guts for gartershave someone's headhave someone's hidegive it to someonegive someone what forgive what forgruelmalavoguenail someone to the wallpenalizepenancepunishtan someone's hidetar outteach someone a lesson

Antonyms

forgivelet offreward

This word in other languages

castigar(Español)punir(Français)bestrafen(Deutsch)castigar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: pnuish,ppunish,puinsh,punihs,punishh,punissh,punnish,punsih,upnish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of punish - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

pnuish2ppunish1puinsh2punihs2punishh1punissh1punnish1punsih2
Edit distance from "punish"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "punish"?
"punish" is spelled P-U-N-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpʌnɪʃ/.
What does "punish" mean?
As a verb, "punish" means: To cause (a child, student, or someone else being looked after, or a suspect or criminal) to suffer for crime or misconduct, to administer disciplinary action, typically by an authority or a person...
What words are commonly confused with "punish"?
"punish" is commonly confused with "push", "puns", "punks". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "punish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "punish" is /ˈpʌnɪʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "punish"?
From Middle English punischen, from Anglo-Norman, Old French puniss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of punir, from Latin puniō (“I inflict punishment upon”), from poena (“punishment, penalty”); see pain. Displaced Old English wītnian and (m... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “punish”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-U-N-I-S-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈpʌnɪʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “push” - see the side-by-side comparison. punish vs push
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list