Synonyms for punishing
- adjective
Most common
Definitions
- adj. 1
That punishes physically and/or mentally; arduous, gruelling, demanding.
They took off at a punishing speed, making London in less than half a day.
Example sentences
- arduous She went through a long and arduous vocational course.
- grueling Fyodor endured the noise for ten grueling minutes.
- vindictive He became quite vindictive after his wife left him.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| punishing | rising | |
| arduous | steady | |
| grueling | rising | |
| gruelling | rising | |
| vindictive | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- hard1
- 5 letters
- heavy2
- 7 letters
- arduous3, onerous3, operose
- 8 letters
- grueling3, toilsome
- 9 letters
- laborious4, gruelling, herculean4, wearisome3, effortful
- 10 letters
- vindictive3, burdensome3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (heavy2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- éprouvant