penalize

5 definitions • 9 examples

to cause someone a disadvantage:

The present tax system penalizes poor people.

The system should ensure that borrowers are not penalized by sudden rises in mortgage rates.

to punish someone for breaking a rule:

He was penalized early in the game for uunsportsmanlike conduct.

to punish someone, esp. for breaking the law or a rule:

The new law penalizes the taxpayers who can least afford to pay.

Boone was penalized for unnecessary roughness and thrown out of the game.

to treat someone or something in a way that gives them a disadvantage:

The current tax system penalizes people on low incomes.

The stock was penalized because Wall Street believed the company's financials would come in below expectations.

to punish someone for failing to obey a rule, law, etc.:

Several major cities are introducing measures that penalize big polluters.

penalize sb for sth The legislation penalized China for manipulating its currency to gain trade advantages.