Standard Lemma guide

punishable

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈpʌnɪʃəbəl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: P AH1 N IH0 SH AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Subject to punishment; appropriate for punishment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Littering in this area is punishable by a fine of up to $100.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: castigable, disciplinable

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

liable to or deserving punishment

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • punishable offenses

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

subject to punishment by law

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a penal offense

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: penal

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English punish Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dhlom Proto-Indo-European *-dhlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English punishable From punish + -able.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: наказуем (nakazuem) — appropriate for punishment
  • Catalan: punible — appropriate for punishment
  • Chinese Mandarin: 該罰的 /该罚的 (gāifá de) — appropriate for punishment
  • Chinese Mandarin: 可罰的 /可罚的 (kěfá de) — appropriate for punishment
  • Czech: trestný — appropriate for punishment
  • Danish: strafbar — appropriate for punishment
  • Dutch: strafbaar — appropriate for punishment
  • Esperanto: puninda — appropriate for punishment
  • Finnish: rangaistava — appropriate for punishment
  • French: punissable — appropriate for punishment
  • French: passible — appropriate for punishment
  • Galician: punible — appropriate for punishment
  • Galician: puníbel — appropriate for punishment
  • German: strafbar — appropriate for punishment
  • Hungarian: büntethető — appropriate for punishment
  • Italian: punibile — appropriate for punishment
  • Japanese: 罰するべき (bassuru beki) — appropriate for punishment
  • Latin: castīgābilis — appropriate for punishment
  • Luxembourgish: strofbar — appropriate for punishment
  • Macedonian: казнив (kazniv) — appropriate for punishment
  • Norman: peunnissabl'ye — appropriate for punishment
  • Polish: karalny — appropriate for punishment
  • Portuguese: punível — appropriate for punishment
  • Portuguese: passível — appropriate for punishment
  • Romanian: penalizabil — appropriate for punishment
  • Romanian: pedepsibil — appropriate for punishment
  • Russian: наказу́емый (nakazújemyj) — appropriate for punishment
  • Spanish: punible — appropriate for punishment
  • Swedish: straffbar — appropriate for punishment
Real reading context

punishable in complete knowledge articles