as in punitive
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment
a castigating task that succeeds in doing nothing more than making the lives of the inmates miserable
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in scolding
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
castigated him for his constant tardiness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in attacking
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
a newspaper editorial castigating the city council for approving the project in the first place
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in punishing
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime
a judge who believes in castigating criminals to the full extent of the law
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of castigating
Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2025
So maybe rather than castigating them, other teams would do well to emulate them.
—Dan Freedman, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
Nearly a year before the March elections, ads began to appear in Rogers’ district castigating him not simply as a RINO but as a closet liberal who supported gun control and Shariah law.
—Ava Kofman, ProPublica, 2 Oct. 2024
Verb
In recent days, the hits have come from all sides, with her 2022 challenger, billionaire mall mogul Rick Caruso, castigating Bass in the media for her absence and handling of the fire.
—Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2025
So maybe rather than castigating them, other teams would do well to emulate them.
—Dan Freedman, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
Nearly a year before the March elections, ads began to appear in Rogers’ district castigating him not simply as a RINO but as a closet liberal who supported gun control and Shariah law.
—Ava Kofman, ProPublica, 2 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for castigating
Adjective
-
In August, a jury in Florida found the automaker partly liable for a deadly 2019 crash involving its Autopilot system, ordering the company to pay $243 million in punitive and compensatory damages.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
6 Oct. 2025
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Unlike the punitive approach used in that case, the USC proposal offers new funding and preferential treatment for universities that comply.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Miss Sammie flashed the scolding look Jean had known since childhood, though playfully now.—
David Wright Faladé,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
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Shipp is tasked with scolding her father and delivering leaden exposition.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Teams found a way to negate Forest’s counter-attacking style.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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And more so than most nights, the Bengals' offensive identity for a long first-half stretch seemed to hinge on attacking quick underneath routes to open up shots to Higgins -- or Chase -- on Moss.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Daniel Day-Lewis is legendary for going to punishing lengths to deliver authentic performances.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
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Composer Deantoni Parks’s score sustains and amplifies the tension, heightening the creeping pretense of water rushing forward and the punishing breathlessness of struggling back upstream.—
Anne Reeve,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Since exiting Dries Van Noten a few years ago, Scallon has been working as an independent consultant and mentor in fashion communications strategy, also lecturing occasionally and sharing his views about creative content on podcasts.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
25 Sep. 2025
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The same woman Don had been lecturing about beer.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Kirk followed Guerrero the next inning, slamming the first of his two homers over the outfield wall.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
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Nonprofit watchdog group Human Rights Watch and fellow comedians like David Cross and Marc Maron, however, are saying otherwise, accusing the festival of deflecting from the country's human rights violations and slamming their peers for their involvement.—
Jessica Wang,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Her coach Cheryl Reeve was later suspended after postgame comments criticizing the officiating in that game.—
Kevin Dotson,
CNN Money,
4 Oct. 2025
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Trump has also spoken at length about his concerns about the New York City mayoral race, criticizing the potential election of progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani, who drew national attention for beating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the wake of the assassination of prominent conservative figure Charlie Kirk, the rhetoric wars have taken to new levels of vitriol, with many on the right blaming the left writ large for such political violence, and vice versa.—
Kayla Dwyer,
IndyStar,
1 Oct. 2025
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Both parties are blaming each other, though a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll shows that more Americans hold Republicans responsible for the impasse.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Castigating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/castigating. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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