1. in a way that is extremely harsh, severe, or difficult to endure

Examples

• The heat was punishingly intense during the summer marathon.
• She worked at a punishingly fast pace to meet the deadline.
• The critic's review was punishingly harsh about the film.
• The team faced punishingly difficult conditions on the mountain climb.
• The tax increase was punishingly high for small business owners.
• He trained punishingly hard to prepare for the competition.