# punitive

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈpju.nɪ.tɪv/ · frequency rank #17,450

## Definitions
1. Inflicting punishment; punishing.

## Etymology
From Middle French punitif, from Medieval Latin pūnitīvus, from pūniō (“I punish”).

## Easily confused with
- **putative** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/punitive-vs-putative)
- **positive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/positive-vs-punitive)

## Common misspellings (11)
`pnuitive`, `ppunitive`, `puintive`, `puniitve`, `punitiev`, `punitivve`, `punittive`, `punitvie`, `punnitive`, `puntiive`, `upnitive`

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