chastise
verb
(ˌ)cha-ˈstīz
Did you know?
If you want to understand the meaning of chastise (which comes from the Anglo-French verb castier, meaning “to discipline”), you could do worse than to turn to popular music. Pop, rap, jazz, rock, country—there’s not a single genre that isn’t full of songs penned from the point of view of jilted and/or cheated lovers chastising—that is, harshly criticizing—the one who did them wrong. Nearly every song on Beyoncé’s 2016 album Lemonade, for example, is a master class in chastisement (chastisement being, of course, the noun form of chastise), featuring such lyrics as “What a wicked way to treat the girl that loves you” and “Ten times out of nine, I know you’re lying.” Chastise itself pops up in lyrics occasionally, too, as sung by artists including Guns N’ Roses (“So don’t chastise me or think I mean you harm”), Dr. Dre (“Fool, you better recognize / Death Row came to chastise”), and Janet Jackson (“Control and chastise / An instrument of punishment / Like a whip”). Jackson’s use is notable in particular for representing the word’s oldest sense, less common but still in use, of “to inflict punishment on (as with a whip).”
Examples of chastise in a Sentence
Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 30 May 2026
Some have been more vocal than others, publicly chastising him for his opacity ahead of what is expected to be a competitive general election race.
—Connor Greene, Time, 29 May 2026
And Jones — respectfully — chastised him.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 28 May 2026
The 15-year veteran, who joined the Sparks in free agency, chastised her teammates for relaxing after every mistake instead of continuing to play.
—Annie Costabile, New York Times, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for chastise
Cite this Entry
“Chastise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chastise. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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chastise
verb
