punishing meaning

UK US /ˈpʌnɪʃɪŋ/ 3 syllables

punishing (adjective): resulting in punishment.

punishing has 2 meanings in this dictionary.

punishing as an adjective

  1. resulting in punishment
    • the king imposed a punishing tax
  2. characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort
    • worked their arduous way up the mining valley
    • a grueling campaign
    • hard labor
    • heavy work
    • heavy going
    • spent many laborious hours on the project
    • set a punishing pace

    Synonyms: arduous, backbreaking, grueling, gruelling, hard, heavy, laborious, operose, toilsome

    Similar: effortful

How to pronounce punishing

punishing is pronounced /ˈpʌnɪʃɪŋ/ in American English. It has 3 syllables, with the stress on the first syllable.

Word lists: words starting with PU · words ending in NG · 9-letter words

More about punishing on Wikipedia.