castigate
Americanverb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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castigationnoun
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castigatornoun
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castigativeadjective
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castigatoryadjective
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noncastigatingadjective
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self-castigatingadjective
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uncastigatedadjective
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uncastigativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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castigatesimple
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castigatessimple
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have castigatedperfect
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has castigatedperfect
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am castigatingprogressive
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are castigatingprogressive
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is castigatingprogressive
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have been castigatingperfect progressive
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has been castigatingperfect progressive
Past
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castigatedsimple
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had castigatedperfect
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was castigatingprogressive
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were castigatingprogressive
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had been castigatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of castigate
First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin castīgātus literally, “driven to be faultless” (past participle of castigāre “to chasten”), equivalent to cast(us) “pure, clean” + -īg-, combining form of agere “to drive, incite” + -ātus past participle suffix; see chaste, -ate 1
Explanation
Use castigate when you mean "to reprimand in an especially harsh way." If you accidentally spill coffee all over your sister's favorite sweater, you might worry that she's going to castigate you as soon as she finds out. Castigate means punish, and punish harshly, but the punishment is always a severe scolding. Sometimes it means criticize severely. Politicians in the Senate are always castigating each other for their alliances and opinions. Castigate and chasten, which also means "to reprimand" but is less severe, share the Latin root castus which means "pure." Ideally, if you castigate someone, you mean to guide someone away from the wrong path and toward a more pure one. But it sure doesn't feel like that when you're being castigated!
Vocabulary lists containing castigate
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Grade 11, List 6
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Webb was able to take on some of Hong Kong’s most powerful constituencies and castigate regulatory authorities for letting corporate governance issues fester.
From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026
"You will be the same person that will castigate us if we acquiesce to accepting Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria," he added.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2025
“I think the U.S. has realized that it would be sacrificing the geopolitical utility of the Indo-U.S. relationship if it decides to castigate India.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2023
"I definitely think it's cultural. It's important not to castigate cultural practices around food but also raise awareness about food safety."
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2022
You were happy with the other two, I castigate myself.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Pécresse, who controls Paris regional transport, hopes to have all buses and trains equipped with aircon by 2032, and she castigates her Socialist predecessor for failing to see its importance.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
Watergate was an early obsession as the long-haired character Mark Slackmeyer, who later goes to work for NPR, delivers a profile of John Mitchell and castigates the establishment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
In U2’s “Crumbs From Your Table,” Bono castigates the wealthy West, especially the U.S., for its miserly and neglectful treatment of African countries long harmed by colonization.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2023
White castigates an array of “delusional” American diplomats who refused to throw U.S. resources into a massive airlift of friendly Vietnamese clamoring to get out.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 22, 2023
Glory of the poet, glow O’ the humorist who castigates his kind, Suave summer-lightning lambency which plays On stag-horned tree, misshapen crag askew, Then vanishes with unvindictive smile After a moment’s laying black earth bare.
From Browning and His Century by Helen Archibald Clarke
Charge sheets grew into lengthy, moralizing denunciations that castigated officials for failing to stay committed to the party.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
His 24-page ruling also castigated both Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and government lawyers for submitting “evasive and demonstrably false” claims to the court under oath.
From Slate ● Dec. 20, 2025
England were widely castigated after the first Test ended inside two days, with former players slamming the so-called "Bazball" tactics which saw a number of batsmen throw their wickets away with rash shots.
From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025
It repeats, without shedding new light, on the ways Kissinger has long been celebrated and castigated.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2025
In the best histrionic village style, Sourmelina unleashed soaring arias in which she lamented the death of her husband and castigated him for dying.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
"Malema gave an alternative voice, castigating the government. It's a welcome break from the usual talk."
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2023
So he decided, "out of curiosity," to look into the books they were castigating.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2023
Besides, the grand majority of those castigating “Barbie” hadn’t seen it, he said, adding that he would like to.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
On the left, meanwhile, publicly castigating the big asset managers on ESG, including calling for senior executives to resign, risks creating a bunker mentality that could lead the firms to disengage from the broader debate.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 20, 2023
No more arguing and citing examples and quoting the famous dead and castigating the infamous living.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
