punishable
/ˈpʌnɪʃəbəl/adjective
punishable is spelled P-U-N-I-S-H-A-B-L-E: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,589th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, punishable means “Subject to punishment; appropriate for punishment” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in punishable?
| Letters | 10: P-U-N-I-S-H-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,589th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is punishable?
Punishable appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,589th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce punishable?
- /ˈpʌnɪʃəbəl/
Punishable has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-punishable.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of punishable
- more punishable comparative
- most punishable superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does punishable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Subject to punishment; appropriate for punishment.
Littering in this area is punishable by a fine of up to $100.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Punishable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense appropriate for punishment:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does punishable come from?
From punish + -able.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).