punish

Universal Words verb [VN] 1 ~ sb (for sth / for doing sth) to make sb suffer because they have broken the law or done sth wrong: Those responsible for this crime will be severely punished. * He was punished for refusing to answer their questions. * My parents used to punish me by not letting me watch TV. 2 ~ sth (by / with sth) to set the punishment for a particular crime: In those days murder was always punished with the death penalty. 3 ~ yourself (for sth) to blame yourself for sth that has happened