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 described feeling social castigation, and sometimes isolation.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2024

He said, especially given the Astros’ behavior during a 2017 season in which they defeated the Dodgers in the World Series, Kelly’s castigation didn’t feel just.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2020

A section recalling American folk songs, all pentatonic melody and bare string drones in perfect fifths, referred to the public castigation of Mapplethorpe’s work by then-Sen.

From Washington Post • Apr. 7, 2019

The Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations feared castigation for applying a second-century technology to a twentieth- and twenty-first-century problem.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2019

Brantome gives us a curious and quaint account of this amusing castigation.

From Curiosities of Medical Experience by Millingen, J. G. (John Gideon)