as in punitive
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment
a chastening hour spent cleaning floors should discourage them from further pranks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
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 answer is not to abandon reform or return to the purely punitive policies of past decades.—
Keith Wortz,
Hartford Courant,
13 Mar. 2026
-
There’s more work to do on SSI’s punitive asset cap.—
Michael Frerichs,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The move triggered condemnation from the African Union, the European Union, and countries including China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.—
Yinka Adegoke,
semafor.com,
20 Mar. 2026
-
While the findings aren’t a condemnation of any one specific crossbreed, the study’s authors hope the new information will help dispel ongoing myths about designer dogs.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
At an average of over 21%, today's credit card rates are punishing, meaning that the repayment process continually gets more difficult for borrowers as the interest compounds.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The Avalanche Gulch route is 11 miles round-trip, with 7,300 punishing feet of vertical gain.—
Gregory Thomas,
San Francisco Chronicle,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Some, like Zdorovetskiy, have been accused of assaulting and humiliating their targets as viewers push for violence.—
Shira Moolten,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Mar. 2026
-
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
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
-
Henry’s wife Yasmin (Marisa Abela) ultimately convinces Hayley to accuse Dycker of assault, discrediting his story about Tender, and weaponizing #MeToo-era politics.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
5 Mar. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
Disaster Ready Kane is looking for local groups involved in things like animal services, damage assessment, debris removal, emergency shelter, emotional and spiritual care, case management and volunteer coordination.—
Aurora Beacon-News,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Testifying before a state legislative committee in February, Lara told lawmakers the insurance department has completed recent rate hike assessments in 120 days and now is targeting a 60-day review.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
During her visit to the Oscars backstage pool, Buckley, who also made history as the first Irish actor to win Best Actress, spoke about how extremely humbling and relatable the journey of motherhood and award season has been for her.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
15 Mar. 2026
-
The Champions League last-16 ties are only at the halfway stage — no team has progressed or exited yet — but no victories in six first legs and an aggregate score of Europe 16-6 Premier League are humbling numbers for English football.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chastening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chastening. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
