as in punitive
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment
a chastening hour spent cleaning floors should discourage them from further pranks
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in condemnation
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chastening
Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
The American suffered a chastening 6-0, 6-0 defeat to Iga Świątek in the Wimbledon final eight weeks ago, the first time in the Open Era that a women’s player has failed to win a single game in the final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
—Jamie Barton, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
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
Verb
But the feel-good factor evaporated following a chastening 3-0 opening-weekend loss away to promoted Sunderland.
—Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
The American suffered a chastening 6-0, 6-0 defeat to Iga Świątek in the Wimbledon final eight weeks ago, the first time in the Open Era that a women’s player has failed to win a single game in the final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
—Jamie Barton, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chastening
Adjective
-
His legal team condemned the plan as unconstitutional and punitive, warning that without assurances from Liberia, Abrego Garcia could be sent back to El Salvador.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Professional development for teachers focuses on positive, rather than punitive, behavioral and engagement practices.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The ruling prompted swift condemnation from Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who released a video promising stricter deportation laws.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
30 Oct. 2025
-
By that time the show had provoked a wave of excited condemnation from commentators online who seemed most consistently offended by the bodysuit printed with the (hairy) image of a (totally) naked male body worn by a female model.—
Luke Leitch,
Vogue,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The only drawback is its poor aerodynamics, which limit its range and accuracy beyond 100-150 yards, and the recoil is punishing.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The transfer of the remains comes just two days after Israel carried out punishing strikes in Gaza in response to the Hamas killing of an Israeli soldier in Rafah on Tuesday afternoon.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
This announcement, humiliating the involved member, is harmful.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
Oc Register,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Frail, undernourished, lacking sufficient clothing, and shoeless, Kammo is overburdened by chores and in constant fear of chastisement.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Already, Cuba’s top diplomats have been sharing propaganda content discrediting Machado as a warmonger.—
Nora Gamez Torres,
Miami Herald,
10 Oct. 2025
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There would be accusations of race manipulation, an online mob discrediting Wallace’s win as undeserved, and an angry Joe Gibbs Racing organization, which would now realize Hamlin puts another team’s interests ahead of their own.—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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About 93% of the mothers included in the assessment had not received any doses of Covid-19 vaccine.—
Deidre McPhillips,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
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That’s the assessment of a YouTube executive involved in the negotiations, who agreed to share perspective from inside the tech giant with Deadline on the condition that their name and job title would not be attached.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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There was something grounding and humbling about that.—
Rachel DeSantis,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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The most recent loss for the Cougars in this matchup was a 45-13 humbling at home in November 2023, but 10th-season head coach Sitake has since stumbled upon a new formula that has BYU in the running for end-of-year honors as things stand.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chastening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chastening. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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