as in punitive
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment
a chastening hour spent cleaning floors should discourage them from further pranks
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in punishing
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime
chastened the child with five minutes of sitting in the corner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in humiliating
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
the unexpected loss to a second-rate player really chastened the tournament's top-seeded tennis star
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in condemnation
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chastening
Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 14 Mar. 2025
Market shakeouts are about testing risk tolerances, forcing a rethink of unexamined premises and, at times, chastening the arrogant.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 3 Mar. 2025
Elsewhere, despite the success of USMNT players in the league phase, this week was chastening — Milan, Juventus and Celtic’s eliminations knocked out half a dozen of their stars.
—Jacob Whitehead, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
What needs to change if the round of 16 is to bring more than just chastening elimination?
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 18 Feb. 2025
Since a chastening defeat to Coco Gauff in Toronto in 2022, Sabalenka has completely remade her serve, eliminating the sprees of double faults that used to pepper her matches.
—Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 25 Jan. 2025
Jackson’s side needed it in what has been a chastening start to his second season Down Under.
—Beren Cross, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
That was an equally chastening reality for their Qatari owners.
—Phil Hay, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
This defeat on Tyneside was a chastening reminder of the scale of the task facing Pereira — three horrible goals conceded, attacking cohesion severely lacking and the chances Wolves did create squandered.
—Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
Noun
Two months later, his side suffered a 5-2 defeat to Crystal Palace, followed by a chastening 5-0 loss away to Chelsea in May.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 14 Mar. 2025
Market shakeouts are about testing risk tolerances, forcing a rethink of unexamined premises and, at times, chastening the arrogant.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 3 Mar. 2025
Elsewhere, despite the success of USMNT players in the league phase, this week was chastening — Milan, Juventus and Celtic’s eliminations knocked out half a dozen of their stars.
—Jacob Whitehead, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
What needs to change if the round of 16 is to bring more than just chastening elimination?
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 18 Feb. 2025
Since a chastening defeat to Coco Gauff in Toronto in 2022, Sabalenka has completely remade her serve, eliminating the sprees of double faults that used to pepper her matches.
—Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 25 Jan. 2025
Jackson’s side needed it in what has been a chastening start to his second season Down Under.
—Beren Cross, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
That was an equally chastening reality for their Qatari owners.
—Phil Hay, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
This defeat on Tyneside was a chastening reminder of the scale of the task facing Pereira — three horrible goals conceded, attacking cohesion severely lacking and the chances Wolves did create squandered.
—Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chastening
Adjective
-
Proactive Regulatory Engagement Rather than awaiting punitive laws, leaders should shape ethical norms: • Fairness Pledges: Company commitments to cap surge pricing during crises, like natural disasters.—
Durga Krishnamoorthy,
Forbes.com,
3 July 2025
-
The same person that says this is daycare, games, goofing around, not punitive enough.—
Cameron Knight,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Verb
-
In an interview with The Athletic last month, Diggins described the feeling of finishing one of the most punishing endurance tests in all of sports.—
Zack Pierce,
The Athletic,
5 Jan. 2025
-
But punishing that behavior means bringing the hammer down on Vietnam, hardly a step that would win Washington strategic support in Hanoi, where a new leadership dominated by public security and military officials actually sees eye to eye with China in some areas.—
Evan A. Feigenbaum,
Forbes,
5 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
As America celebrates its 249th anniversary and a declaration of independence from tyranny on July 4, Bolick's comments represent his most piercing and direct condemnation of actions taken by the country's highest political leaders.—
Taylor Seely,
AZCentral.com,
3 July 2025
-
The suppression of dissent drew international condemnation, and the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on Belarus.—
Yuras Karmanau,
Los Angeles Times,
2 July 2025
Verb
-
Poor data quality can provide wrong models and alerts, discrediting predictive monitoring.—
Hrushikesh Deshmukh,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Johnson released new guidelines for reporting gifts Wednesday after discrediting the investigation.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The study focused solely on older adults; the average age at baseline for the men and women was 74.3 years, with follow-up assessments at around eight years later.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 July 2025
-
Pair leaderless group exercises with structured assessments.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
The imposition of higher tariffs (real or imagined) compels organizations to react by diversifying their supplier base, promoting nearshoring or relocating production facilities, and redirecting shipping routes.—
Steve Durbin,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
-
Such impositions were once land agencies’ go-to methods of crowd control.—
Sarah Scoles,
JSTOR Daily,
11 June 2025
Noun
-
Anyone found in violation of the measure could have to pay the state as much as $10,000 in fines.—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
7 July 2025
-
Apple has now formally appealed one of its latest fines in Europe connected to its digital marketplace.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
7 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chastening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chastening. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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