Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb punish

1 sense of punish

Sense 1
punish, penalize, penalise -- (impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on; "The students were penalized for showing up late for class"; "we had to punish the dog for soiling the floor again")

Antonyms of adj punishing

1 of 2 senses of punishing

Sense 2
arduous, backbreaking, grueling, gruelling, hard, heavy, laborious, operose, punishing, toilsome -- (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")

INDIRECT (VIA effortful) -> effortless -- (requiring or apparently requiring no effort; "the swallows glided in an effortless way through the busy air")

Similarity of adj punishing

2 senses of punishing

Sense 1
punishing -- (resulting in punishment; "the king imposed a punishing tax")
       Participle of verb punish (Sense 1)
      => punish, penalize, penalise -- (impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on; "The students were penalized for showing up late for class"; "we had to punish the dog for soiling the floor again")

Sense 2
arduous, backbreaking, grueling, gruelling, hard, heavy, laborious, operose, punishing, toilsome -- (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")
       => effortful (vs. effortless) -- (requiring great physical effort)