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
  • Someone else scolds the offender.
    — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 16 June 2026
  • Inspired by This Is Spinal Tap, Cundieff makes quick work of lambasting the casual misogyny and homophobia ingrained in hardcore rap, but also of the media scolds unable to parse the message of the music.
    — Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026
Definition of scolds
Verb
  • She has been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease that causes vision loss, and lupus, a disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues and organs instead of fighting germs, according to court records.
    — Chase Jordan July 30, Charlotte Observer, 30 July 2026
  • The filmmaker has previously spoken about having myositis — a disease where the immune system attacks the muscles — which has significantly affected his mobility.
    — Rino Lu, IndieWire, 28 July 2026
Definition of attacks
Verb
  • Sehnaoui's meeting with the Israeli leader occurred as some in Lebanon have called for abolishing a 1955 law that bans dealing with Israel or having contacts with Israelis and punishes offenders with up to 10 years in jail.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 July 2026
  • Everybody is behaving sensibly inside a structure that punishes sense.
    — Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of punishes
Verb
  • That works beautifully against outsiders, and outsiders are most of who criticizes us.
    — Sachin H. Jain, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • Mike Collins criticizes Jon Ossoff for relying on out-of-state donations.
    — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of criticizes
Verb
  • This is happening as a demographic shift to an older, grayer population slams Colorado.
    — Bruce Finley, Denver Post, 5 July 2026
  • Taylor Sheridan slams critics Sheridan's series are all hits with regular people, but he's routinely been a target for critics.
    — David Hookstead OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of slams
Verb
  • Khimasia is an independent curator who currently lectures at Rutgers University.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 27 July 2026
  • In fact, they were borne out of more practical considerations, said Elizabeth Morton, a planning and urban design consultant who lectures at George Washington University.
    — Rachel Treisman, NPR, 9 July 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
  • The emperor reprimands her for being late for the rainmaking ritual.
    — Lavender Au, The Dial, 30 June 2026
  • His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 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 6 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on castigates

Nglish: Translation of castigates for Spanish Speakers

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