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Definition of "castigate" [cas•ti•gate]

  • To inflict severe punishment on. See Synonyms at punish. (verb-transitive)
  • To criticize severely. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "castigate" in a sentence
  • "In your latest, you again castigate Reichert and give a little praise to Darcy, but very little substance."
  • "Headmaster Fuess was no doubt familiar with a type of teacher who is far rarer now than during the era in which he taught, and which he describes here in a passage featuring the word castigate (KA stuh gayt), a harsh-sounding word that comes from the same Latin root as chastise, and means to criticize or punish severely, especially by harsh public criticism."
  • "Chastise, as well as castigate, comes from the Latin castigare, which adds the force of -igare, or agere, “to drive,” to the purifying."