# punish

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈpʌnɪʃ/ · frequency rank #7,726

## Definitions
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. To treat harshly and unfairly.
3. To handle or beat severely; to maul.
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.

## Easily confused with
- **push** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/punish-vs-push)
- **puns** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/punish-vs-puns)
- **punks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/punish-vs-punks)
- **punts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/punish-vs-punts)
- **purist** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/punish-vs-purist)
- **punished** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/punish-vs-punished)
- **punisher** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/punish-vs-punisher)
- **punch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/punch-vs-punish)
- **penis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penis-vs-punish)
- **phish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/phish-vs-punish)
- **Polish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/polish-vs-punish)
- **parish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/parish-vs-punish)
- **perish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-punish)
- **publish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/publish-vs-punish)
- **pinkish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pinkish-vs-punish)

## Common misspellings (9)
`pnuish`, `ppunish`, `puinsh`, `punihs`, `punishh`, `punissh`, `punnish`, `punsih`, `upnish`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/punish