penalize

verb/ˈpiːnəlaɪz/

Frequency rank: #16,609 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

to impose a punishment or disadvantage on someone for breaking a rule or law.

Illustration for the English word “penalize”

Example sentence

The referee decided to penalize the player for his rough foul during the match.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 16,601–16,700