castigation

American  

[kas-ti-gey-shuhn] / ˌkæs tɪˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. severe criticism or harsh scolding; censure.

   The speaker segued inexplicably from a calm informational tone into a full-throated castigation of anyone and everyone associated with the administration.

   The impassioned responses to my essay range from ardent appreciation to virulent castigation.

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Other Word Forms

• noncastigation
  noun
• self-castigation
  noun

Etymology

Origin of castigation

First recorded in 1350–1400, for an earlier sense; from Latin castīgātiōn-, stem of castīgātiō “chastisement, a chastening,” from castigāre “to chasten”; see castigate ( def. ), -ion ( def. )

Explanation

If your coach yells at your team for sloppy play, her post-game speech might be called a castigation. A castigation is a harsh verbal reprimand. No one likes to be on the receiving end of castigation. The word comes from the Latin castigus which means "to make pure." Try to remember during castigation that the castigator is, in their own misguided way, trying to make you a better person. But that may be hard to think of when someone is bawling you out.

Example Sentences

He hath not wanted Prayer, Fasting, nor Castigation, which are proper Physick for him.

From The Old Debauchees. A Comedy (1732) by Fielding, Henry

He must also know Jommithry accordin' to Grunther's scale—the Castigation of the Klipsticks—Surveying, and the use of the Jacob-staff.

From The Hedge School; The Midnight Mass; The Donagh Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of William Carleton, Volume Three by Carleton, William