chasten

verb chas·ten \ ˈchā-sᵊn \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

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Examples: chasten in a Sentence

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Definition of chasten

chastened; chastening play \ˈchās-niŋ, ˈchā-sᵊn-iŋ\

transitive verb

1 : to correct by punishment or suffering : discipline

If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men
—2 Samuel 7: 14 (King James Version)

also : purify

2 a : to prune (something, such as a work or style of art) of excess, pretense, or falsity : refine

b : to cause to be more humble or restrained : subdue

He was chastened by his team's defeat.

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chastener

play \ˈchās-nər, ˈchā-sᵊn-ər\ noun

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Examples of chasten in a Sentence

chastened the child with five minutes of sitting in the corner
the unexpected loss to a second-rate player really chastened the tournament's top-seeded tennis star

Recent Examples of chasten from the Web

Fired abruptly by President Trump last year as the Russia investigation engulfed the young Trump administration, Mr. Comey has returned to the public spotlight, chastening the president on Twitter and writing a best-seller.

— adam goldman, New York Times, "Comey Often Thought He Knew Best. That May Have Hurt the F.B.I.," 14 June 2018
Merkel has been chastened by the eruption of German populism in the shape of the Alternative for Germany, the far-right anti-immigrant party that is now the official opposition in the German parliament.

— tim lister, CNN, "Europe is on the verge of a big new crisis, just six years after the last one," 2 June 2018
Barack Obama had a peculiar vision of the Middle East remade: Iran ascendant, the power of Israel checked, the Saudis chastened.

— william cummings, USA TODAY, "The Bubble: Trump is a bully and ending Iran deal shows he's looking for war, liberals say," 9 May 2018
But at the end of a chastening 90 minutes, Di Francesco was left to rue his words as Liverpool ruthlessly exploited the visitors' defensive weakness and tactical naivety.

— stevens griffiths, chicagotribune.com, "Three things we learned from Liverpool v Roma," 24 Apr. 2018
The national Democratic Party was not chastened: On Wednesday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took sides in that House race and backed Gil Cisneros, a Navy veteran and former Republican.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "How hard will McCarthy go against Mueller?," 23 Apr. 2018
Get our daily newsletter In the cold war a generation of statesmen, chastened by conflict and the near-catastrophe of the Cuban missile crisis, used arms control to lessen the risk of annihilation.

— The Economist, "Despite North Korea, arms control is unravelling," 5 May 2018
For anyone wondering if men in music have felt chastened and reflective in the #MeToo era, there's your answer.

— august brown, latimes.com, "Alice Glass and Zola Jesus provide a soundtrack to the #MeToo era," 27 Apr. 2018
The national Democratic Party was not chastened: On Wednesday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took sides in that House race and backed Gil Cisneros, a Navy veteran and former Republican.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "How hard will McCarthy go against Mueller?," 23 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chasten.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

If you say you would "castigate" or "chastise" someone in order to "chasten" them, you demonstrate a good knowledge of the origin of "chasten" - all three verbs derive from the Latin verb castigare, meaning "to punish." The trio shares an initial sense of "to subject to severe and often physical punishment," but all three verbs are now as likely to refer to a verbal dressing-down as a physical lesson. "Chasten" (which arrived in English via Anglo-French chastier) can also be used to mean "to prune of excess, pretense, or falsity." This led to the more general sense of "to make more subdued," although the humility can be imposed by a humiliating situation as easily as by a strict taskmaster.

Origin and Etymology of chasten

alteration of obsolete English chaste to chasten, from Middle English, from Anglo-French chastier, from Latin castigare, from castus + -igare (from agere to drive) — more at act

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1526

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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chasten Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of chasten

punish, chastise, castigate, chasten, discipline, correct mean to inflict a penalty on in requital for wrongdoing. punish implies subjecting to a penalty for wrongdoing.