chasten

verb chas·ten \ ˈchā-sᵊn \

|Updated on: 19 Jul 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.

—

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

But the recent price bust chastened both seasoned executives and young people about to enter the industry.

— Houston Chronicle, "Competition for top talent keeps pay scale high in oil industry," 13 July 2018
He was chastened against Belgium, even discouraging the referee from checking VAR at one point.

— jonathan wilson, SI.com, "The Danger of Overreacting to Brazil's Disappointing World Cup Exit," 7 July 2018
Feeling chastened, perhaps, Neymar trimmed his mohawk before the final group-stage game.

— dan adler, Vanities, "The World Cup Is Halfway Over, Here’s What Comes Next," 29 June 2018
The episode chastened the APA, which established the rule in 1973.

— leonard l. glass, STAT, "The Goldwater rule is broken. Here’s how to fix it," 28 June 2018
And there is little sign that Trump was chastened by this experience.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Paul Ryan Scrambles to Block Vote on DREAM Act," 17 May 2018
That attack also followed an alleged chemical-weapons attack, but what was meant to chasten the Assad regime and its allies at the time did nothing of the sort.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "The many things Trump didn’t accomplish in the latest Syria strike," 16 Apr. 2018
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

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

See Words from the same year

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.