castigation

American  

[kas-ti-gey-shuhn] / ˌkæs tɪˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. severe criticism or harsh scolding; censure.

   The speaker segued inexplicably from a calm informational tone into a full-throated castigation of anyone and everyone associated with the administration.

   The impassioned responses to my essay range from ardent appreciation to virulent castigation.

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Other Word Forms

• noncastigation noun
• self-castigation noun

Etymology

Origin of castigation

First recorded in 1350–1400, for an earlier sense; from Latin castīgātiōn-, stem of castīgātiō “chastisement, a chastening,” from castigāre “to chasten”; castigate ( def. ), -ion ( def. )

Explanation

If your coach yells at your team for sloppy play, her post-game speech might be called a castigation. A castigation is a harsh verbal reprimand. No one likes to be on the receiving end of castigation. The word comes from the Latin castigus which means "to make pure." Try to remember during castigation that the castigator is, in their own misguided way, trying to make you a better person. But that may be hard to think of when someone is bawling you out.

Example Sentences

“Then use the media’s castigation of you for keeping your mouth shut as a dog whistle to the base?” she added.

From New York Times • May 25, 2022

He said, especially given the Astros’ behavior during a 2017 season in which they defeated the Dodgers in the World Series, Kelly’s castigation didn’t feel just.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2020

The Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations feared castigation for applying a second-century technology to a twentieth- and twenty-first-century problem.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2019

This includes castigation, and if you issue a sharp “no!” or “quiet,” then you have already lost this battle of wits.

From Slate • Jan. 10, 2019

The driver limped back to his seat, in great amazement at not receiving a severe castigation for his awkwardness.

From Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c. by Hell, Xavier Hommaire de