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
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of chastening
Oliver Kay, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
Mark Carey, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
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
Adjective
For all the positivity that greeted back-to-back victories against Aston Villa and Real Madrid over the previous eight days, this was in some ways their most chastening defeat so far.
—Oliver Kay, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
Verb
Arteta’s side responded in style, beating north London rivals Tottenham 4-1 on Sunday in a chastening afternoon for Spurs’ new interim head coach, Igor Tudor.
—Mark Carey, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
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
-
The caliphate ruled Manbij for two brutal years—years of summary executions and punitive amputations.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Kwok Yin-sang's case also shows authorities' willingness to utilize their full arsenal of punitive national security legislation to criminalize a wider swath of Hong Kong's population, according to Eric Lai, a senior fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law.—
Shibani Mahtani,
NPR,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Shane referenced last year’s Aspen Place condemnation housing disaster in Gardner that left nearly 700 people homeless within 48 hours.—
Lynne Hermansen,
Kansas City Star,
27 Feb. 2026
-
The City Council voted Wednesday to pay the money to settle a 2025 condemnation lawsuit to acquire land near the old Dallas Morning News campus from a company owned by developer Ray Washburne.—
Everton Bailey Jr,
Dallas Morning News,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Roebuck finished with 29 points and was punishing the Wolverines with his strength driving and drawing fouls.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
-
The principal reportedly directed the activity to the school football field rather than punishing teens for walking out of classes.—
Jeffrey S. Solochek,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
First there was Norwegian’s Sturla Holm Lægreid confessing to cheating on his girlfriend during a live interview after winning the bronze medal and tearfully begging her to come back (shockingly, humiliating his ex on national television didn’t work).—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
-
At one point at the table, Jane ran a fork down the side of Robert's face, leaving red lines, humiliating him.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
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
Verb
-
Supporters of Pahlavi were particularly vocal in Mashhad this month, as attested by the prevalence of pro-monarchy graffiti on city walls, and the regime’s propaganda devoted particular attention to discrediting the former crown prince.—
Davood Moradian,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Elordi and Giannulli appeared to be going strong over the next two years, with sources discrediting breakup speculation to PEOPLE in January 2024 and as the two vacationed together in Italy the following September.—
Luke Chinman,
PEOPLE,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
After initial theoretical assessments and successful laboratory trials, AEON underwent its first test deployment at the BMW Group Plant Leipzig in December 2025.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Mar. 2026
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But that April special session has been canceled, and the assessment will now happen during the commission’s regular annual meeting in November.—
Deidre McPhillips,
CNN Money,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Le says this whole process has been slow but humbling and he's never felt alone, thanks to Reinne.—
Rina Nakano,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
-
That information can be humbling—and extremely useful.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chastening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chastening. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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