chastise
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to discipline or punish, esp by beating
-
to scold severely
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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unchastisingadjective
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chastisernoun
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self-chastiseverb (used with object)
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unchastisableadjective
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chastisableadjective
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nonchastisementnoun
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self-chastisementnoun
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chastisementnoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have chastisedperfect
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has chastisedperfect 3rd person singular
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am chastisingprogressive 1st person singular
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are chastisingprogressive
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has been chastisingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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chastisessingular 3rd person
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have been chastisingperfect progressive
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is chastisingprogressive 3rd person singular
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chastisingparticiple
Past
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had chastisedperfect
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was chastisingprogressive singular
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were chastisingprogressive plural
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chastisedparticiple
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had been chastisingperfect progressive
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chastisedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of chastise
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English chastisen, equivalent to chasti(en) “to chasten ” + -s-, of unknown origin + -en infinitive suffix
Explanation
Chastise is a fancy word for telling someone that something they did was really bad. If you pick your nose, your mom will probably yell at you. If you pick your nose in front of the Queen of England, your mom will chastise you. Back in the Middle Ages, chastise used to also come with a beating — that sense of the word has passed, and in fact, people tend to use chastise when they are trying to accuse someone else of overreacting. "You're chastising me for forgetting to feed the cat, but it's not like the cat died!"
Vocabulary lists containing chastise
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Tragedy of Macbeth
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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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.
