chastise

verb

chas·​tise ˈcha-ˌstīz  (ˌ)cha-ˈstīz 

chastised; chastising

transitive verb

1

: to censure severely : castigate

The coach chastised the players for their mistakes.

2

: to inflict punishment on (as by whipping)

3

archaic : chasten sense 2

chastisement

(ˌ)cha-ˈstīz-mənt 

 also  ˈchas-təz-

noun

chastiser

(ˌ)cha-ˈstī-zər 

noun

Did you know?

If you want to understand the meaning of chastise (which comes from the Anglo-French verb castier, meaning “to discipline”), you could do worse than to turn to popular music. Pop, rap, jazz, rock, country—there’s not a single genre that isn’t full of songs penned from the point of view of jilted and/or cheated lovers chastising—that is, harshly criticizing—the one who did them wrong. Nearly every song on Beyoncé’s 2016 album Lemonade, for example, is a master class in chastisement (chastisement being, of course, the noun form of chastise), featuring such lyrics as “What a wicked way to treat the girl that loves you” and “Ten times out of nine, I know you’re lying.” Chastise itself pops up in lyrics occasionally, too, as sung by artists including Guns N’ Roses (“So don’t chastise me or think I mean you harm”), Dr. Dre (“Fool, you better recognize / Death Row came to chastise”), and Janet Jackson (“Control and chastise / An instrument of punishment / Like a whip”). Jackson’s use is notable in particular for representing the word’s oldest sense, less common but still in use, of “to inflict punishment on (as with a whip).”

Synonyms

• baste
• bawl out
• berate
• call down
• castigate
• chew out
• dress down
• flay
• hammer
• jaw
• keelhaul
• lambaste
• lambast
• lecture
• rag
• rail (at or against)
• rant (at)
• rate
• ream (out)
• rebuke
• reprimand
• reproach
• scold
• score
• tongue-lash
• upbraid

Choose the Right Synonym for chastise

punish, chastise, castigate, chasten, discipline, correct mean to inflict a penalty on in requital for wrongdoing.

punish implies subjecting to a penalty for wrongdoing.

punished for stealing

chastise may apply to either the infliction of corporal punishment or to verbal censure or denunciation.

chastised his son for neglecting his studies

castigate usually implies a severe, typically public censure.

an editorial castigating the entire city council

chasten suggests any affliction or trial that leaves one humbled or subdued.

chastened by a landslide election defeat

discipline implies a punishing or chastening in order to bring under control.

parents must discipline their children

correct implies punishing aimed at reforming an offender.

the function of prison is to correct the wrongdoer

Examples of chastise in a Sentence

The waiter was chastised for forgetting the customer's order.

The coach is always chastising the players for minor mistakes.

Recent Examples on the Web

Not that the public wasn’t angry at them — her film depicts angry residents of Malibu, for example, chastising firefighters for not doing enough. —Jocelyn Noveck, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2025

The waggish jeer that subverts the Reich Chancellery, designed by Adolf Hitler's chief architect, Albert Speer, must have sent the woman who chastises children for flatulent folly into a tizzy. —Natasha Gural, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025

A day after it was widely reported that Tom Holland and Zendaya are engaged, Sherri host Sherri Shepherd jokingly chastised her audience for thirsting over him. —Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 7 Jan. 2025

Worse, every week at the team meeting, my boss would chastise me for inputting data incorrectly, often publicly humiliating me. —Diana Lowe, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English chastisen, borrowed from Anglo-French chastiser, extension, with a suffix of uncertain origin, of chastier, castier "to correct by punishment, discipline" — more at chasten

Note: As has long been noted, the formation of this verb in Anglo-French is peculiar. The date is too early to expect a derivative with -iser -ize in Anglo-French or English, and there is no verb *chastir that could have produced a stem chastiss-.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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Kids Definition

chastise

verb

chas·​tise (ˈ)chas-ˈtīz 

chastised; chastising

1

: to punish severely (as by whipping)

2

: to criticize harshly

chastisement

(ˈ)chas-ˈtīz-mənt 

 also  ˈchas-təz-

noun

chastiser

(ˈ)chas-ˈtī-zər 

noun