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 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
While he continued to castigate the protesters and blame the unrest on the United States, he started calling for “unity” and “peace.”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 17, 2021
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
Then "Calliope" turns into a vengeance story: Dream castigates Richard for holding Calliope captive and orders him to free her.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2022
But while Melanchthon castigates the papal theologians, he spares and even defends the Emperor.
From Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church by F. (Friedrich) Bente
Officers castigated his father when he returned from the higher station and reunited with his son.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 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
The creator and lead actress of the HBO hit series “Girls” has long been castigated for her vocal fry and grating delivery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 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
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
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
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
There were similar scenes from West Ham's players at Southampton, castigating Peter Bankes for not ruling out Saints' opener, while Hammers boss David Moyes said the VAR needed "to go to Specsavers".
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2022
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
Jefferson’s highly moralistic language castigating George III and the English government in the Declaration of Independence was not just propaganda, at least for Jefferson.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
