chastise

verb chas·tise \ (ˌ)chas-ˈtīz \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of chastise

chastised; chastising

transitive verb

1 : to censure severely : castigate

The coach chastised the players for their mistakes.

2 : to inflict punishment on (as by whipping)

3 archaic : chasten 2

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chastisement

play \(ˌ)chas-ˈtīz-mənt also ˈchas-təz-\ noun

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chastiser

play \(ˌ)chas-ˈtī-zər\ noun

See chastise defined for English-language learners

See chastise defined for kids

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 of chastise from the Web

On Sunday Murray Energy chastised the federal government for failing to intervene sooner.

— timothy puko, WSJ, "Trump Faces Test on Coal With FirstEnergy Appeal," 1 Apr. 2018
In Sacramento, Sharpton and others chastised President Trump for failing to comment on police shootings of young black men.

— don thompson, BostonGlobe.com, "Emotions run high at funeral for unarmed man shot by police in Sacramento," 30 Mar. 2018
Turning the focus nationally, Sharpton and others chastised President Donald Trump for failing to comment on police shootings of young black men.

— don thompson and sophia bollag, chicagotribune.com, "Stephon Clark shot 7 times from behind by Sacramento police, according to independent autopsy," 30 Mar. 2018
Some board members chastised the city for not planning ahead and building fewer vacation days into its calendar.

— baltimore sun staff, baltimoresun.com, "Maryland schools and snow days: what is left?," 21 Mar. 2018
The criteria were first used last year in his Supreme Court selection of Neil M. Gorsuch, an appeals court judge who became something of a hero on the right for chastising his fellow jurists for being too deferential to government functionaries.

— jeremy w. peters, New York Times, "Trump’s New Judicial Litmus Test: Shrinking ‘the Administrative State’," 26 Mar. 2018
Herbstreit went on Twitter a few days ago and felt the need to chastise White’s self-proclamation of a national championship.

— mike bianchi, OrlandoSentinel.com, "UCF AD Danny White fires back at ESPN critics like Herbstreit, Finebaum," 23 Mar. 2018
Former intelligence chiefs who, a few years ago, were justly chastised by much of the mainstream media for lying and violating civil liberties are now featured in the press as purveyors of truth and justice.

— james bamford, The New Republic, "Anti-Intelligence," 19 Mar. 2018
Tillerson long advocated back-channel diplomacy with Pyongyang and was publicly chastised by Trump for so doing.

— trudy rubin, philadelphia inquirer, star-telegram, "Tillerson held the brake on Trump's reckless instincts | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 16 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of chastise

Middle English chastisen, alteration of chasten — see chasten

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

chastise Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of chastise

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