verb
Other Word Forms
- castigation noun
- castigative adjective
- castigator noun
- castigatory adjective
- noncastigating adjective
- self-castigating adjective
- uncastigated adjective
- uncastigative adjective
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; chaste, -ate 1
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.
“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
Vanessa Bryant has waged an intense battle with the county, even using her social media cachet to castigate the sheriff and name the deputies linked to the photo scandal.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 2, 2021
While he continued to castigate the protesters and blame the unrest on the United States, he started calling for “unity” and “peace.”
From Washington Post • Jul. 17, 2021
Then what ideas did Mencken hold that made a newspaper like the Commercial Appeal castigate him publicly?
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
