Basic Details
Word: Punished
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Made someone suffer a penalty for doing something wrong. It is the past tense of punish.
Synonyms: penalised, disciplined
Antonyms: rewarded, pardoned
How to Spell Punished
Syllables: pun - ished
Tricky part: There is only one n, and the ending is ished. Students often double the n, as if it were like dinner.
Watch out for: punnished, punised, punishd
Memory tip: It begins with pun, a joke - but nothing about being punished is funny. Pun + ish + ed.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The rule-breakers were punished with extra laps around the field.
Example 2: In the fable, the greedy dog was punished for his greed.
Example 3: The court punished the company for polluting the river.
Fun Fact
Punish comes from the Latin punire, which is linked to poena, penalty. Poena also gave English the words penalty and pain.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word 'punished' as used in the sentence:
The referee punished the player for a rough tackle with a yellow card.
a) penalised
b) disciplined
c) fined
d) rewarded
Show answer
d) rewarded. A yellow card is a penalty, so the opposite of punishing a player is rewarding him.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence and choose the word they make:
The boys were hudsinep for breaking the classroom window with a cricket ball.
a) polished
b) published
c) perished
d) punished
Show answer
d) punished. Published needs a b and an l, polished needs an o and an l, and perished needs an r, but the jumble has an n and a u.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. warned 2. scolded 3. punnished 4. forgiven
a) told about a danger beforehand
b) pardoned for a wrong
c) spoken to angrily
d) given a penalty for doing wrong
Show answer
d) given a penalty for doing wrong. Punished has a single n; scolded, warned and forgiven are written correctly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A fair teacher punishes a student only after ____.
a) the exams are marked
b) finding out what happened
c) the summer holidays begin
d) the student wins a prize
Show answer
b) finding out what happened
2. Being punished usually follows ____.
a) finishing homework
b) helping a friend
c) breaking a rule
d) winning a race
Show answer
c) breaking a rule
