punitivism

punitivism means support for the expansion and strengthening of criminal penalties, especially as opposed to other methods of addressing crime.

Why “punitivism” is a great word

The doctrine or practice of advocating for harsher and more extensive criminal penalties as the central response to wrongdoing. From Medieval Latin pūnītīvus ("relating to punishment") and the suffix -ism, forming nouns of practice or doctrine. Unlike rehabilitation, which seeks to reform and restore the offender, or restorative justice, which endeavors to heal the specific harm done, punitivism is the cold arithmetic of retribution. It is the lengthening of a sentence in a statute, the cheer at a campaign rally for more prisons, and the quiet, satisfying finality of a cell door slamming shut—a faith that society can be calibrated through the precise application of pain.

Etymology

Punitive + -ism

noun

Support for the expansion and strengthening of criminal penalties, especially as opposed to other methods of addressing crime.

Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

punitiveness 71% match — The state or condition of being punitive. vs punitivism →
rehabilitationism 61% match — The belief that criminals should be rehabilitated into society. vs punitivism →
overpenalization 61% match — The process of administering excessive punishment, especially in response to crime. vs punitivism →
retribution 60% match — Punishment inflicted in the spirit of moral outrage or personal vengeance. vs punitivism →
funishment 59% match — A proposed treatment of criminals that would take them out of wider society (like a traditional prison) but without aiming to punish them. vs punitivism →
antipunishment 58% match — Opposing punishment. vs punitivism →
overpunishment 58% match — Excessive punishment. vs punitivism →
tutiorism 56% match — rigorism vs punitivism →