lesson
142
6.7
- noun
- /ˈlɛsən/
- Informal
- I guess they need a harsh lesson.
- teach someone a lesson
- an object lesson
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Watch on YouTubeHe said do it, let your brother learn a lesson, do it.
- He said do it, let your brother learn a lesson, do it.
- He's he is trying to punish her and teach her a lesson and said I didn't want the cat.
- And Hamas will have learned a lesson.
- The fourth reason you'll never get closure is because you will never teach them a lesson.
Examples
-
Rollwagen's experience in Washington, however, soon became an object lesson for businessmen in government.
Academic text (1993) -
And hopefully that kid will learn a lesson and straighten out its ways.
-
Let this be a lesson to you.
-
Yes, a lesson for everyone at home.
-
Let this be a lesson to all you ants.
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I'm going to teach you a lesson.
-
Let this be a lesson to the heads of state dependent on the United States.
Academic text (2011) -
But they taught a dangerous lesson that outsiders could be dangerous.
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The odyssey of the Afo-a-Kom should have served as an object lesson for Kom and Americans alike.
Academic text (1990) -
The village was burned down to teach them a lesson: not to harbor runaways.
Synonyms
613
1.3
An action that makes someone suffer for breaking a rule, like a fine or time in prison
59
4.7
A person punished publicly to warn others
7
6.1
A clear example, often a punishment, that warns other people
People use a punishment to show others not to do the same
Idioms
- Informal
2
3.4
A person notices they made a mistake and does things differently to avoid it again
Compounds
How Severe
613
1.3
- Informal
142
6.7
- Formal
24
6.1
6
3.3
138
1.0
16
7.4
Surface Forms
Etymology
Lesson comes from the Latin lectio, from legere 'to read', and later the word came to mean anything that 'teaches'. So when someone is given a punishment as a 'lesson', the idea is that the punishment should 'teach' others a warning.