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
“I want to make a difference … They have to castigate, they have to impugn my motives. Because, if I’m right, what does that say about them?”
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2025
"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
But I am not here to castigate you.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 30, 2020
It probably misses the point, though, to castigate McCandless for being ill prepared.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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
He castigates bankers such as Felix Rohatyn, who in 1975 rescued the city’s finances and from the mid-1970s to the 1980s insisted on raising fares.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 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
The Fox News host castigates his own publisher in the opening pages of his newly released book — “The Long Slide: Thirty Years in American Journalism.”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 22, 2021
Mr. Macdonald has an intimate knowledge of Celtic superstitions, and always castigates the right thing.
From Literary Tours in The Highlands and Islands of Scotland by Daniel Turner Holmes
Then, hours later, Infantino was castigated by FIFA’s own No. 3 executive, chief operating officer Kevin Lamour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
She castigated department attorneys over their “appalling” and “reckless disregard for the duty of candor” and described them as “unworthy of this trust at every point.”
From Slate ● May 18, 2026
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
Dr. Dadoo, president of the Transvaal Indian Congress, castigated the restrictions and dismissed the offer of parliamentary representation as “a spurious offer of a sham franchise.”
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
In recent days, the hits have come from all sides, with her 2022 challenger, billionaire mall mogul Rick Caruso, castigating Bass in the media for her absence and handling of the fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2025
"Malema gave an alternative voice, castigating the government. It's a welcome break from the usual talk."
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2023
Gabriel scored a contentious Miss USA victory in October, with competitors castigating her and accusing organizers of giving her special treatment.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 15, 2023
Bing Lin, a third-year Ph.D. student under Dr. David Wilcove in the Program in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy at Princeton University, urged against castigating all wet markets.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2022
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.
