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chastening 1 of 3

adjective

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

chastening

2 of 3

noun

as in condemnation

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Dissimilar Words

chastening

3 of 3

verb

present participle of chasten
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of chastening
Adjective
Sunderland are lurking and, perhaps for the first time under Howe’s management, Newcastle are in deficit, needing a response (yet again) after a chastening night in Europe. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2026
Verb
Another reason this defeat felt so chastening for United was that eight of Hull’s starting line-up had come up from the Championship, a year on from surviving relegation on goal difference. — Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026 The discipline and economy of Rosenwald’s philanthropy also provide a chastening contrast to our current hidebound efforts to help people. — Harold Pollack, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chastening
  1. punitive
  2. condemnation
  3. punishing
  4. humiliating
  5. chastisement
  6. discrediting
  7. assessment
  8. humbling
Adjective
  • However, recent scholarship posits that the structure was used as ordinary (rather than punitive) housing, and that the vulgar decor was in fact a distinguishing characteristic of the epoch.
    — Jim Greer, SPIN, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The Department of Defense attempted to blacklist Anthropic in February after the company refused to remove restrictions on its AI models being used for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance, a move widely seen as punitive.
    — Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of punitive
Noun
  • That drew condemnation in the volatile region that remains ethnically divided more than three decades after the war, which started when Bosnia's Serbs took control over swaths of the country's territory to form their own state.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Police shot at an unarmed crowd protesting apartheid pass laws on March 21, 1960, and drew international condemnation.
    — Michelle Gumede, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of condemnation
Verb
  • The system would also need to survive punishing off-road conditions.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Onshoring hasn’t taken off as a runaway trend even as the current political administration exacts punishing duties on offshore production markets far and wide.
    — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of punishing
Verb
  • The Iranians are now setting the terms of this conflict and are routinely humiliating the American president.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • Instead of demanding personal fealty or humiliating them to assert personal dominance, Lincoln absorbed their egos and occasional slights, elevating their talents and turning his fiercest political adversaries into his most devoted champions.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 24 June 2026
Definition of humiliating
Noun
  • Case appealed, headed to Idaho Supreme Court Neither side was fully satisfied by the decision — or appeared to take Scott’s chastisement to heart.
    — Rose Evans Updated December 10, Idaho Statesman, 10 Dec. 2025
  • 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
Definition of chastisement
Verb
  • This isn’t about discrediting merengue, a genre that also deserves to be celebrated, respected and protected.
    — Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The release of his diaries though, revealed some thoroughly discrediting and upsetting details about Fauci's private beliefs.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of discrediting
Noun
  • Improved logistics for Saudi crude exports have reduced the market's assessment of how much supply is at risk, Massabni said, adding that oil prices reflect not just available barrels but also the probability of those supplies being disrupted.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 18 Sep. 2026
  • And while getting Vicki back on the show hasn’t made for particularly fun television, her Debbie Downer season (apologies to Victoria, but Emily’s assessment is sticking) is at least authentic.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of assessment
Verb
  • Schottenheimer has been a part of humbling experiences in the NFL similarly to Parker’s experience in his first game as a defensive play-caller.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Sep. 2026
  • To have the opportunity to make my directorial debut here in California, surrounded by an extraordinary cast and crew, is both incredibly emotional and deeply humbling.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of humbling

Browse Nearby Words

chasteness
chastening
chastens
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Cite this Entry

“Chastening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chastening. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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