Definition of castigate
castigated
;castigating
transitive verb
: to subject to severe punishment, reproof, or criticism The judge castigated the lawyers for their lack of preparation.
From the M-W Editors
castigate was our Word of the Day on 05/17/2017. Hear the podcast!
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Examples of castigate in a Sentence
The author castigated the prime minister as an ineffective leader.
castigated him for his constant tardiness
Recent Examples of castigate from the Web
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The brouhaha brought back memories of 1998 for Baldwin, who was famously castigated for going on Conan O'Brien's show and ranting about stoning GOP Congressman Henry Hyde and his family to death.
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Mr. de Blasio’s exchange with Charles occurred minutes after the mayor, in the interview, castigated President Trump for pulling the United States out of the Paris accord on climate change and urged listeners to stop using plastic shopping bags.
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Echoing the sentiments of world leaders, American Democrats are endlessly castigating Trump for his decision.
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In Brussels, the president had just castigated NATO allies for their defense spending.
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As news emerged Wednesday that Trump planned to quit the Paris deal, business leaders and foreign heads-of-state began castigating the decision as a woeful abandonment of US leadership.
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Cunningham doled out some criticism himself, castigating his predecessor, Wayne Motley, for failing to write a budget before the fiscal year began May 1, the same day Cunningham, formerly the 1st Ward alderman, was sworn in as mayor.
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Many moderates are wary of a bill that would let Democratic opponents castigate them for snatching away coverage like maternity care.
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Now is your chance to castigate me in the comments.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'castigate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Castigate has a synonym in chastise - both verbs mean to punish or to censure someone. Fittingly, both words derive from the same root: the Latin castigare, formed from the words for "pure" (castus) and "to drive" (agere). (Castus also gave us the noun caste, meaning "social class or rank.") Another verb derived from castigare is chasten, which can also mean "to discipline by punishment" but more commonly means "to subdue or make humble" (as in "chastened by his foolish error"). Castigate is the youngest of the three verbs in English, dating from the early 17th century, some three centuries after chasten and chastise.
Origin and Etymology of castigate
Latin castigatus, past participle of castigare — more at chasten
First Known Use: 1606
Synonym Discussion of castigate
CASTIGATE Defined for English Language Learners
castigate
playDefinition of castigate for English Language Learners
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: to criticize (someone) harshly
CASTIGATE Defined for Kids
castigate
playDefinition of castigate for Students
castigated
;castigating
: to punish or criticize harshly
Learn More about castigate
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See words that rhyme with castigate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for castigate Spanish Central: Translation of castigate Nglish: Translation of castigate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of castigate for Arabic speakers
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