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# punishment

«punishment» in Mova's school dictionary: **something unpleasant done to someone because they did…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a punishment, punishments; punishment)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A punishment is something unpleasant done to someone because they did something wrong, like losing playtime or paying a fine. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punishment/#m1)

2) Punishment is the act of punishing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punishment/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In school and home life a punishment follows breaking rules: detention, losing screen time, time-out. In stories the villain often gets a punishment at the end. In lessons about fairness pupils discuss whether a punishment fits what was done. Phrases: «as a punishment», «a fair punishment», «escape punishment», «crime and punishment».

### examples

- As a punishment, he had no TV for a week. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punishment/#x1)
- Detention is a common punishment at school. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punishment/#x2)
- Is it fair to give the whole class a punishment for one person's mistake? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punishment/#x3)
- The thief got a punishment from the judge. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punishment/#x4)
- In the fairy tale, the wicked queen got her punishment. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punishment/#x5)
- A good punishment should help you learn, not just hurt. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punishment/#x6)
- Ingratitude sometimes brings its own punishment. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punishment/#x7)

### note

Countable and uncountable. Verb: «punish» (punished, punishing). Opposite idea: «reward». The word ends in «-ment». «A punishment» is not the same as «a consequence», although adults sometimes use them alike.

### In the corpora

- [The joke: cheek gets the biggest punishment, much more than stealing.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/29/)
- ["Time out" means a short punishment of being sent to sit alone.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/14-family-and-behaviour/20/)
- ["The naughty step" means a place where a child must sit as a punishment (UK).](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/14-family-and-behaviour/21/)
- ["Behaviour management" is jargon for discipline and punishment.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/17-school-and-pets/6/)
- [Letting someone take your punishment is like stealing from them: you take their good name and their free time.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/345-when-someone-else-takes-your-punishment/0/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «punishment» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punishment/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.