Punitive

How to spell punitive

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce punitive

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does punitive mean?

1. adjectiveIntended as or inflicting punishment, often harshly or severely.

Punitive in a sentence

• The court awarded punitive damages to deter future misconduct.

• Critics argued the new tax was punitive rather than fair.

Where does punitive come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb punire, meaning 'to punish' or 'to inflict a penalty', which was itself built on the noun poena, meaning 'penalty' or 'punishment'. That noun was borrowed in turn from the Greek poine, which carried the older sense of 'blood-money' or compensation paid for a killing. From punire came the Late Latin adjective punitivus, 'concerned with punishment', and English picked the word up in the early 1600s, partly with help from the French punitif. The same poena root quietly survives in the everyday words 'penalty', 'penal', and even 'pain', so the link between punishment and suffering is baked into its family tree. A useful spelling cue is that it keeps a single 't' after 'puni-', echoing 'punish', rather than doubling as some learners expect.

How the word is built

• punit- (from Latin punire: to punish)
• -ive (adjective suffix: tending to)