punitive

1. 1.

   inflicting punishment

   “punitive justice”

   “punitive damages”

   Synonymspunitory

   Antonymsrehabilitative

   Similarcorrectionalpenalpenitentiaryretaliatory

Questions about punitive

What does punitive mean?

punitive means "inflicting punishment".

How many syllables are in punitive?

punitive has 3 syllables: pu-ni-tive. The stress falls on "pu". In IPA it is /ˈpjunətɪv/.

What is another word for punitive?

Close synonyms include punitory. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of punitive?

The recorded antonyms are rehabilitative.

Is punitive a common word?

punitive is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.