chastise
verb
chas·tise
ˈcha-ˌstīz 
(ˌ)cha-ˈstīz
(ˌ)cha-ˈstīz
chastised; chastising
1
: to censure severely : castigate
The coach chastised the players for their mistakes.
2
: to inflict punishment on (as by whipping)
3
archaic
: chasten sense 2
Did you know?
There are many words to express the infliction of a penalty in return for wrongdoing—for example, chastise, castigate, chasten, correct, discipline, and punish. Of these, chastise, chasten, and castigate share similar origins as well as similar meanings. Chastise developed as an altered form of chasten, which comes from the Anglo-French chastier, which has its roots in the Latin verb castigare, which also gave English the word castigate.
Synonyms
Examples of chastise in a Sentence
The waiter was chastised for forgetting the customer's order.
The coach is always chastising the players for minor mistakes.
Recent Examples on the Web
The 60-year-old continued his cryptic message, chastising liars and those who propagate and promote falsehoods and inauthenticity.
—
Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 5 Nov. 2024
The interplay between pervert audience and chastising host is a delicate dance, as old as time.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
Nearly a decade ago, while visiting a park in the U.S. with her then-nearly 3-year-old daughter, she was approached by an American parent who chastised her for sitting on a bench while her daughter ran free.
—Jackie Mader, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Oct. 2024
Westlake says this serves an important purpose—not to chastise people for going on holiday, but to direct attention to people whose lifestyles really do have an exceptionally high carbon impact.
—Matt Reynolds, WIRED, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chastise 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 5 Nov. 2024
The interplay between pervert audience and chastising host is a delicate dance, as old as time.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
Nearly a decade ago, while visiting a park in the U.S. with her then-nearly 3-year-old daughter, she was approached by an American parent who chastised her for sitting on a bench while her daughter ran free.
—Jackie Mader, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Oct. 2024
Westlake says this serves an important purpose—not to chastise people for going on holiday, but to direct attention to people whose lifestyles really do have an exceptionally high carbon impact.
—Matt Reynolds, WIRED, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chastise
Dictionary Entries Near chastise
Cite this Entry
“Chastise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chastise. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chastise
verb
chas·tise
(ˈ)chas-ˈtīz
chastised; chastising
1
: to punish severely (as by whipping)
2
: to criticize harshly
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share