punishment
pun·ish·ment/ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/noun
punishment is spelled P-U-N-I-S-H-M-E-N-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables (pun·ish·ment). It appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 4,015th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, punishment means “The act (action) or process of punishing, imposing and/or applying a sanction, typically by an authority or a person in authority (for example: a…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of punishment is punishments.
How many letters and syllables are in punishment?
| Letters | 10: P-U-N-I-S-H-M-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: pun·ish·ment |
| In writing | 22 times per million words; the 4,015th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is punishment?
Punishment appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 4,015th 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 punishment?
- /ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/
- [ˈpʰʌnɪʃmənt] ~ [ˈpʰʌnɪʃmn̩t]
Punishment has 3 syllables, split pun·ish·ment in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-punishment.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of punishment
- punishments plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does punishment mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act (action) or process of punishing, imposing and/or applying a sanction, typically by an authority or a person in authority (for example: a parent or teacher), especially when disappointed or dissatisfied with the behavior or actions of a child, student, or someone else being looked after.
The naughty children were given a punishment by their teachers.
- 2
A penalty to punish wrongdoing, especially for crime.
a light punishment
- 3
A suffering by pain or loss imposed as retribution.
- 4
Any harsh treatment or experience; rough handling.
a vehicle that can take a lot of punishment
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Punishment in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | punition, châtiment |
| German | Strafe, Bestrafung |
| Portuguese | punição , castigo, pena |
| Spanish | castigo, escarmiento, punición , penitencia |
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 punishment come from?
From Middle English punishement, from Old French punissement, from punir (“to punish”). Equivalent to punish + -ment. Displaced native Old English wīte.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).