as in punitive
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment
a chastening hour spent cleaning floors should discourage them from further pranks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in condemnation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in punishing
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime
chastened the child with five minutes of sitting in the corner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in humiliating
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
the unexpected loss to a second-rate player really chastened the tournament's top-seeded tennis star
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of chastening
Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
That remains to be seen because, after a chastening first window as sporting director, having only arrived on July 4, the onus is on Mitchell to dovetail with Howe and bolster a first-team squad in need of quality and a refresh.
—Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024
Speaking to me more recently, Reiss recalled a chastening encounter with an old classmate.
—Darryn King, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
Los Blancos could have undone some of the damage done by a 0-4 chastening at the hands of bitter rival FC Barcelona with a statement win over Ancelotti's former employers AC Milan in the Champions League.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
Channel 4 posted its biggest deficit of all time last year in what was a chastening financial year, with content boss Ian Katz deciding to reject his bonus.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2024
Verb
Sunday’s chastening 5-0 loss at home to Liverpool could have been even worse.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
That remains to be seen because, after a chastening first window as sporting director, having only arrived on July 4, the onus is on Mitchell to dovetail with Howe and bolster a first-team squad in need of quality and a refresh.
—Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024
Speaking to me more recently, Reiss recalled a chastening encounter with an old classmate.
—Darryn King, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
Los Blancos could have undone some of the damage done by a 0-4 chastening at the hands of bitter rival FC Barcelona with a statement win over Ancelotti's former employers AC Milan in the Champions League.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
Channel 4 posted its biggest deficit of all time last year in what was a chastening financial year, with content boss Ian Katz deciding to reject his bonus.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chastening
Adjective
-
Zoom in: These moves, while punitive, are temporary and a new president can easily reverse them.—
Sara Fischer,
Axios,
20 Feb. 2025
-
And university leaders fearing government investigations, funding cuts, or punitive endowment taxes crack down on campus protest, remove or demote outspoken professors, and remain silent in the face of growing authoritarianism.—
STEVEN LEVITSKY,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Thailand deported more than 100 of them to China in 2015, drawing condemnation from the international community.—
Michael Sullivan,
NPR,
27 Feb. 2025
-
The posts quickly drew condemnation from many users on Truth Social and Instagram, even from people who identified themselves as Republicans.—
Ben Goggin,
NBC News,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
But punishing that behavior means bringing the hammer down on Vietnam, hardly a step that would win Washington strategic support in Hanoi, where a new leadership dominated by public security and military officials actually sees eye to eye with China in some areas.—
Evan A. Feigenbaum,
Forbes,
5 Jan. 2025
-
In an interview with The Athletic last month, Diggins described the feeling of finishing one of the most punishing endurance tests in all of sports.—
Zack Pierce,
The Athletic,
5 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Many of the conspiracy theories have prompted FEMA to create a page on its site discrediting rumors and false information about its response to Hurricane Helene.—
Nicole Sganga,
CBS News,
14 Oct. 2024
-
Still, the United States didn’t recognize Haiti as a nation until 1862, during the Civil War, when American leadership was looking for any support in discrediting slavery.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes,
10 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
Vanessa Perry, interim dean of the George Washington University School of Business, agrees with that assessment.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA TODAY,
17 Feb. 2025
-
Other nations use economic assessments to decide whether to cover drugs and at what price, often paying far less than the U.S. for the same treatments.—
Robin Fields,
CNN,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Far from justice being a foreign imposition, here German prosecutors pursued German trials for German crimes.—
Gary J. Bass,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2025
-
Trump also suggested Ukraine ought to hold elections, which have been postponed due to the war and the consequent imposition of martial law, in accordance with the Ukrainian Constitution.—
Hanna Arhirova,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Google last week agreed to pay €326 million ($341 million) in taxes, fines and interest for not paying taxes on income generated in Italy between 2015 and 2019, specifically on revenues generated by selling advertising space.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
26 Feb. 2025
-
The star was also ordered to pay a $350 fine and court fees.—
Rachel DeSantis,
People.com,
26 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chastening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chastening. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share