An emeritus professor at the University of Warsaw, she graduated in 1951 and remained closely associated with the institution for decades.
Her research focused on lexicography, the relationship between language and values, and the literary language of Polish Romantic poet Cyprian Kamil Norwid.
During World War II, as a teenager, Puzynina was a member of the Grey Ranks (Szare Szeregi), an underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association.
In the 1970s, she became involved with the dissident Workers’ Defence Committee (KOR), and following the communist regime’s declaration of martial law in December 1981, she actively supported persecuted students.
Puzynina firmly believed that a scholar's foremost duty was to serve the common good, which she defined as fostering "a civilization of people of goodwill."
In recognition of her contributions, she was awarded Poland’s highest state honor, the Order of the White Eagle, in 2024.
Her other accolades included the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Gold Gloria Artis Medal for Cultural Merit.
(mk/ał)