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penal

adjective (CAUSING DISADVANTAGE)
 
 
/ˈpiː.nəl/ UK

Definition

having a harmful effect; causing disadvantage: They complained about the penal and counter-productive tax rates. Employees regarded the childcare charges as penal.Dangerous and harmful
(Definition of penal adjective (CAUSING DISADVANTAGE) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
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