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
“There is a desire everywhere to castigate those who are in power,” said Alberto Vergara, a political scientist at the University of the Pacific in Peru.
From Washington Post ● May 29, 2022
Then what ideas did Mencken hold that made a newspaper like the Commercial Appeal castigate him publicly?
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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
Watergate was an early obsession as the long-haired character Mark Slackmeyer, who later goes to work for NPR, delivers a profile of John Mitchell and castigates the establishment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 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
White castigates an array of “delusional” American diplomats who refused to throw U.S. resources into a massive airlift of friendly Vietnamese clamoring to get out.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 22, 2023
He vindicates with a powerful hand the ideas which it evolved; while he castigates, and depicts with poetic melancholy its mournful errors and its tragic character.
From Graham's Magazine Vol XXXIII No. 1 July 1848 by Conrad, Robert Taylor
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
Starting off in the old third division also meant I was able to make mistakes on certain issues without being castigated by the media.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025
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
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
"Women also must take this opportunity to bring men along with us," scolded Kami Rieck at the New York Times, in a column castigating women who are feeling demoralized about dating men.
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2024
Besides, the grand majority of those castigating “Barbie” hadn’t seen it, he said, adding that he would like to.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
Upping the ante, Algeria’s official news agency published a statement castigating French secret services as seeking “the definitive break with Algeria.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 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
She went on in that vein for a while, castigating herself.
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.
