严惩不贷

嚴懲不貸
yánchéng-búdài
idiom #67,295

Meanings

  1. 1 to punish severely without pardon
  2. 2 to deal with harshly, showing no mercy

Examples

HSK 6
Fánshì wéifǎn guīdìng de, yílǜ yánchéng-búdài.
Anyone who violates the rules will be severely punished, no exceptions.
HSK 7-9
Duì fǔbài xíngwéi, bìxū yánchéng-búdài.
Corruption must be punished severely without pardon.

Tips

usage
贷 here means 'to pardon/to spare' (an old legal sense), so 不贷 = 'no pardon.' The phrase is a standard tagline in legal and disciplinary announcements - 一律严惩不贷 ('all will be punished, no exceptions').
register
Formal and authoritative. Common in news reports, court verdicts, and corporate disciplinary statements. Sounds too heavy for ordinary conversation.

Stroke Order

严 yán
惩 chéng
不 bù
贷 dài