castigates

verb

present tense third-person singular of castigate
1
as in scolds
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings castigated him for his constant tardiness

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2
as in attacks
to criticize harshly and usually publicly a newspaper editorial castigating the city council for approving the project in the first place

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in punishes
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime a judge who believes in castigating criminals to the full extent of the law

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for castigates
  1. scolds
  2. attacks
  3. punishes
  4. criticizes
  5. slams
  6. lectures
  7. excoriates
  8. reprimands
Verb
  • In a video shared by De La Espriella’s office Tuesday, the president scolds some of the suspects captured by police.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • In a video shared by De la Espriella’s office Tuesday, the president scolds some of the suspects captured by police.
    — Manuel Rueda, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of scolds
Verb
  • At the same time, in the real world, Lisa wakes up and attacks Thomas and Paladin, using her new, uh, nanobot powers?
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic (long-term) autoimmune condition in which your immune system attacks healthy tissues, causing joint pain, swelling, and stiffness.
    — Health Editorial Team, HEALTH, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of attacks
Verb
  • Free markets, small government, low taxes and a sensible bipartisan foreign policy that seeks stability in the Middle East and punishes authoritarians who would project power beyond their borders?
    — James D. Zirin, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026
  • If economic insecurity punishes the governing party at the polls, the next Congress will be expected to do something about it once sworn in.
    — Erin Kay Lockwood, The Conversation, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of punishes
Verb
  • The film examines the choices made by the cops and criticizes their failure to prevent bloodshed.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 13 Nov. 2026
  • Cervera, who often publicly criticizes school district decisions, defends his criticism of Fernandez.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of criticizes
Verb
  • One recent ad featuring an Epstein survivor, and targeted at Kansas Republican Roger Marshall, slams the incumbent senator’s September 2025 vote to block a procedural measure that would have released the Epstein files.
    — Caitlin Dewey, Vox, 28 Oct. 2026
  • There’s seat-shaking violence in how the whale breaches the surface and slams its weight back down (the crafty sound design is by James Miller) and body horror in its claustrophobic, spongy inner chambers.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of slams
Verb
  • Often, the pincher is in the company of an elder who lectures to her.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Professors structure lectures with an awareness of how a sentence might circulate online.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of lectures
Verb
  • Smullen’s campaign launched an anti-Constantino website that excoriates him for, among many other things, his past registration as a Democrat.
    — Michael Hill, Fortune, 12 June 2026
  • Woodcutters sets forth the musings of a narrator sitting in an armchair at a dinner party who excoriates the literary awards establishments of his native land (and by extension all lands that are host to a robust bourgeoisie).
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Feb. 2026
Definition of excoriates
Verb
  • Being a fly on the wall is precisely what Hard Knocks makes viewers feel like in the moment when Head Coach Mike Macdonald reprimands linebacker Derick Hall for getting too close to a quarterback.
    — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The emperor reprimands her for being late for the rainmaking ritual.
    — Lavender Au, The Dial, 30 June 2026
Definition of reprimands
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Castigates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/castigates. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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