Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

punitive

/ˈpju.nɪ.tɪv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.39 in modern English

Syllables: puni-tive
IPA: /ˈpju.nɪ.tɪv/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Inflicting punishment; punishing.

Example Sentences

"Beijing imposed punitive sanctions on Canada."
"The jury awarded $10,000 in punitive damages."
"The council took punitive measures against poachers."
"But Judge Alex W. Gabert, in a Rio Grande City courtroom, ordered the punitive damage reduced to conform to a 2003 Texas law that caps punitive damages at twice the amount of economic damages — lost pay — and up to $750,000 on top of noneconomic damages."

Etymology

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

Origin

Source language: Middle French

Word Breakdown

Root: *kʷey-, punitif, pūnitīvus

Inflected Forms

more punitive (comparative) most punitive (superlative)

Derived Forms

impunitive intropunitive nonpunitive punitively punitiveness punitivism unpunitive

Phrases

punitive damages punitive populism punitive tariff

Frequently Paired Words

punishment inflictive penal rehabilitative vengeful

Synonyms

castigatory punitory punishmental punitive vindicatory vindictive

Antonyms

nonpunitive unpunitive

Questions

How do you pronounce punitive?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpju.nɪ.tɪv/.
What does punitive mean?: Inflicting punishment; punishing.
Where does punitive come from?: It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce punitive

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “punitive”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpju.nɪ.tɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “punitive”.
Repeat and practice — Say “punitive” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.