punitive C2 Topic:Crime & Justice US /ˈpju.nɪ.tɪv/ See IPA manual Freq #27894 Meanings 1 adj Intended as punishment. The government imposed punitive taxes on imported goods. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · intended as punishment. punitory ↔ Opposites nonpunitiveunpunitive Common collocations punitive justice Adjective + noun Etymology AI details From Middle French punitif, from Medieval Latin pūnitīvus, from pūniō (“to punish”). *kʷey- Proto-Indo-European punitif Middle French pūnitīvus la-med View etymology graph -> Topics Crime & Justice Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # punitive **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈpju.nɪ.tɪv/ **Frequency rank:** 27894 ## Meanings 1. Intended as punishment. ## Examples - The government imposed punitive taxes on imported goods. ## Antonyms - nonpunitive - unpunitive ## Roots and Affixes - Root: *kʷey- - Root: punitif - Root: pūnitīvus ## Etymology From Middle French punitif, from Medieval Latin pūnitīvus, from pūniō (“to punish”). ## AI Etymology Punitive is from Middle French punitif, from Medieval Latin pūnitīvus, from pūniō (“to punish”). Important recorded forms include *kʷey- (Proto-Indo-European), punitif (Middle French), and pūnitīvus (la-med). Current senses include intended as punishment. ## Topics - Crime & Justice - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown