chastises

verb

present tense third-person singular of chastise
1
as in scolds
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings a cold, distant father who rarely paid attention to his children except to chastise them

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in punishes
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime the division of opinion regarding the appropriate way to chastise juvenile perpetrators of adult crimes

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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 chastises The few encounters with representatives of the law are exasperating — an officer chastises Soulan for being a bad role model for his students — though not necessarily cut and dried. — Kambole Campbell, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026 Later, after clearing the Silo 1 control room, Victor both chastises Camille for her failures and grudgingly praises her for lying so convincingly that his biometric lie detectors couldn’t detect it. — Noel Murray, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026 The respected 13th-century Spanish rabbi Nachmanides (Ramban) chastises Lot for the atrocity of offering his daughters in place of the angels. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026 When a stranger chastises them for not wearing hijabs in public, Pari and Hanna can barely manage to stifle a laugh. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2026 As Dexter questions why Batista’s death hurts so much, Brian chastises his brother for listening to Harry too much. — Nick Caruso, TVLine, 5 Sep. 2025 Red Jacob chastises Colum for not healing quickly enough. — Lincee Ray Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chastises
  1. scolds
  2. punishes
  3. reprimands
  4. criticizes
  5. blames
  6. lectures
Verb
  • In a video shared by De La Espriella’s office Tuesday, the president scolds some of the suspects captured by police.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • In a video shared by De la Espriella’s office Tuesday, the president scolds some of the suspects captured by police.
    — Manuel Rueda, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of scolds
Verb
  • Free markets, small government, low taxes and a sensible bipartisan foreign policy that seeks stability in the Middle East and punishes authoritarians who would project power beyond their borders?
    — James D. Zirin, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026
  • If economic insecurity punishes the governing party at the polls, the next Congress will be expected to do something about it once sworn in.
    — Erin Kay Lockwood, The Conversation, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of punishes
Verb
  • Being a fly on the wall is precisely what Hard Knocks makes viewers feel like in the moment when Head Coach Mike Macdonald reprimands linebacker Derick Hall for getting too close to a quarterback.
    — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The emperor reprimands her for being late for the rainmaking ritual.
    — Lavender Au, The Dial, 30 June 2026
Definition of reprimands
Verb
  • Cervera, who often publicly criticizes school district decisions, defends his criticism of Fernandez.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2026
  • At an October debate, Bass pointed out that Raman, as chair of the city council’s housing and homelessness committee, had repeatedly approved spending on Inside Safe, the very program Raman now criticizes as expensive and insufficiently accountable.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of criticizes
Verb
  • The ad blames the high cost of groceries on Israel, which Jewish leaders have condemned as antisemitic.
    — Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Microsoft blames the revenue drop on the benefit of Windows 10 end of support during the prior year, as well as OEM inventory drawdowns and a weaker PC market.
    — Tom Warren, The Verge, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of blames
Verb
  • Often, the pincher is in the company of an elder who lectures to her.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Professors structure lectures with an awareness of how a sentence might circulate online.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of lectures

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chastisers
chastises
chastising
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Cite this Entry

“Chastises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chastises. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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