chastising 1 of 2

adjective

as in punitive
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment a chastising lecture on the proper care and feeding of the dog

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chastising

2 of 2

verb

present participle of chastise
1
as in scolding
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings a cold, distant father who rarely paid attention to his children except to chastise them

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2
as in punishing
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime the division of opinion regarding the appropriate way to chastise juvenile perpetrators of adult crimes

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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 chastising
Verb
Seconds later, Vitello was tossed from the game and a hot mic caught third base umpire Lance Barrett chastising the Giants manager. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026 When the House Committee smeared me on TV and sent letters chastising Northwestern during the Biden administration, suddenly my Palestine solidarity speech became a fireable offense. — Literary Hub, 14 July 2026 Daemon chastising Ulf and Hugh over their disobedience, sowing the seeds of their discontent. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 So the painting, which is an image of a maternal figure chastising her child, kind of foreshadows the plot. — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 28 June 2026 The governor took to social media on June 24, chastising the president for canceling the bipartisan housing reform package. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 24 June 2026 Some have been more vocal than others, publicly chastising him for his opacity ahead of what is expected to be a competitive general election race. — Connor Greene, Time, 29 May 2026 Almost immediately after releasing Einstein, Paliwal started receiving emails from professors chastising him for creating a tool seemingly designed to perpetuate academic fraud. — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026 San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, the newest major candidate to enter the race, hewed toward partisan middle ground, chastising leaders in Sacramento for allowing the state budget to balloon without tangible improvements to housing affordability, homelessness and public schools. — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chastising
  1. punitive
  2. scolding
  3. punishing
  4. lecturing
  5. reprimanding
  6. criticizing
  7. blaming
Adjective
  • Trump’s treatment of South Korea is not unique, having taken punitive measures against a slew of allies who refused to back his invasion of Iran.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The bill, which would ban homeless encampments statewide, could add more punitive measures to enforcement against unsheltered homelessness in Charlotte.
    — Laura Horne, Charlotte Observer, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of punitive
Verb
  • Rather than scolding parents about screens, society could do more to support families in ways that obviate the need for screen time.
    — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Do not punish your dog by scolding or yelling at them, as this may make your dog's behavior worse out of fear or stress.
    — Madeline Gunderson, USA Today, 28 July 2026
Definition of scolding
Verb
  • Iran has weathered near-continuous, punishing economic sanctions for nearly 50 years, since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The punishing financial verdicts against Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, in recent years have forced him into bankruptcy, led to some of his personal property being put up for auction and led to him leaving his Infowars platform.
    — Jim Vertuno, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of punishing
Verb
  • Today, young people are increasingly frustrated with the hypocrisy of politicians lecturing them about the virtues of voting while in practice facilitating disengagement.
    — David Neil, New York Daily News, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon criticized Spain for lecturing Israel on security while struggling to control its own border.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of lecturing
Verb
  • The audience awkwardly chuckles, and Scovel, eyes still closed, begins reprimanding them.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Her Volumnia bellows at her meek daughter-in-law, Virgilia (Justine Faith) as though reprimanding an incompetent private.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Definition of reprimanding
Verb
  • Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing Jewish people.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 22 Aug. 2026
  • McCain has often spoken out against the British royal family and Markle, in particular, routinely criticizing her on the Happy Hour talk series during the 2025 release of Markle’s docuseries With Love, Meghan.
    — Mariel Turner, HollywoodReporter, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of criticizing
Verb
  • People shooting them too far forward and then blaming the cartridge, maybe.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
  • But blaming the technology risks obscuring the fact that humans write the code, select the data on which AI systems are trained, approve their use, and decide where and how they are deployed.
    — Shaun Harper, AJC.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of blaming

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Cite this Entry

“Chastising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chastising. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of chastising for Spanish Speakers

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