chastise

verb

chas·​tise ˈcha-ˌstīz  (ˌ)cha-ˈstīz 

chastised; chastising

transitive verb

1

: to censure severely : castigate

The coach chastised the players for their mistakes.

2

: to inflict punishment on (as by whipping)

3

archaic : chasten sense 2

chastisement

(ˌ)cha-ˈstīz-mənt 

 also  ˈchas-təz-

noun

chastiser

(ˌ)cha-ˈstī-zər 

noun

Did you know?

If you want to understand the meaning of chastise (which comes from the Anglo-French verb castier, meaning “to discipline”), you could do worse than to turn to popular music. Pop, rap, jazz, rock, country—there’s not a single genre that isn’t full of songs penned from the point of view of jilted and/or cheated lovers chastising—that is, harshly criticizing—the one who did them wrong. Nearly every song on Beyoncé’s 2016 album Lemonade, for example, is a master class in chastisement (chastisement being, of course, the noun form of chastise), featuring such lyrics as “What a wicked way to treat the girl that loves you” and “Ten times out of nine, I know you’re lying.” Chastise itself pops up in lyrics occasionally, too, as sung by artists including Guns N’ Roses (“So don’t chastise me or think I mean you harm”), Dr. Dre (“Fool, you better recognize / Death Row came to chastise”), and Janet Jackson (“Control and chastise / An instrument of punishment / Like a whip”). Jackson’s use is notable in particular for representing the word’s oldest sense, less common but still in use, of “to inflict punishment on (as with a whip).”

Synonyms

• baste
• bawl out
• berate
• call down
• castigate
• chew out
• dress down
• flay
• hammer
• jaw
• keelhaul
• lambaste
• lambast
• lecture
• rag
• rail (at or against)
• rant (at)
• rate
• ream (out)
• rebuke
• reprimand
• reproach
• scold
• score
• tongue-lash
• upbraid

Choose the Right Synonym for chastise

punish, chastise, castigate, chasten, discipline, correct mean to inflict a penalty on in requital for wrongdoing.

punish implies subjecting to a penalty for wrongdoing.

punished for stealing

chastise may apply to either the infliction of corporal punishment or to verbal censure or denunciation.

chastised his son for neglecting his studies

castigate usually implies a severe, typically public censure.

an editorial castigating the entire city council

chasten suggests any affliction or trial that leaves one humbled or subdued.

chastened by a landslide election defeat

discipline implies a punishing or chastening in order to bring under control.

parents must discipline their children

correct implies punishing aimed at reforming an offender.

the function of prison is to correct the wrongdoer

Examples of chastise in a Sentence

The waiter was chastised for forgetting the customer's order.

The coach is always chastising the players for minor mistakes.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the latest example of how judicial systems around the world are grappling with how to handle the increasing presence of artificial intelligence in court, Sharp and fellow judge Jeremy Johnson chastised lawyers in two recent cases in a ruling on Friday. —Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2025

In 2017, after two American students said they were raped by police officers on their way home from a Florence nightclub, then-Mayor Dario Nardella chose to respond by chastising the student population. —John Last, Christian Science Monitor, 9 May 2025

House Republicans chastised Lamont and majority Democrats last month for shorting this contractual obligation by $228 million in their respective budget proposals for the next two fiscal years. —Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 25 May 2025

Some Democrats chastised universities for cracking down on unruly pro-Palestinian protests. —Dallas Morning News, Twin Cities, 24 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English chastisen, borrowed from Anglo-French chastiser, extension, with a suffix of uncertain origin, of chastier, castier "to correct by punishment, discipline" — more at chasten

Note: As has long been noted, the formation of this verb in Anglo-French is peculiar. The date is too early to expect a derivative with -iser -ize in Anglo-French or English, and there is no verb *chastir that could have produced a stem chastiss-.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for chastise

• advise
• applies
• apprise
• arise
• assize
• baptize
• belies
• bitwise
• capsize
• chordwise
• clockwise
• coastwise

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Kids Definition

chastise

verb

chas·​tise (ˈ)chas-ˈtīz 

chastised; chastising

1

: to punish severely (as by whipping)

2

: to criticize harshly

chastisement

(ˈ)chas-ˈtīz-mənt 

 also  ˈchas-təz-

noun

chastiser

(ˈ)chas-ˈtī-zər 

noun