1
as in scolds
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
castigated him for his constant tardiness
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2
as in attacks
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
a newspaper editorial castigating the city council for approving the project in the first place
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3
as in punishes
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime
a judge who believes in castigating criminals to the full extent of the law
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for castigates
Verb
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Someone else scolds the offender.
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Inspired by This Is Spinal Tap, Cundieff makes quick work of lambasting the casual misogyny and homophobia ingrained in hardcore rap, but also of the media scolds unable to parse the message of the music.
Verb
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Rabies is a viral disease that attacks the central nervous system and is almost always fatal once symptoms begin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Another device, called a 4-Poster bait station, attacks the ticks that congregate on deer’s heads.
Verb
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But Telegram founder Pavel Durov said the ban needlessly punishes the over 150 million Telegram users in the country, instead of the insiders who leaked the exam materials.
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Their primary concern is that the allocation formula punishes rec centers with large bank balances that city parks officials haven’t managed to spend on facilities upgrades or activities.
Verb
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The couple has been targeted by a group called Boycott Divest Zabludowicz, which criticizes them for supporting a pro-Israel lobby.
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That letter, referenced in the Brandeis Center complaint, criticizes the APA for failing to discipline a former division president, Lara Sheehi, for various incendiary comments about Zionism.
Verb
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Taylor Sheridan slams critics Sheridan's series are all hits with regular people, but he's routinely been a target for critics.
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His hand fans out into a wave, then the door slams shut.
Verb
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Today’s successful downtowns rely on a mix of ingredients, said Steven Falk, the former city manager of Lafayette, who’s served as an interim city executive in Oakland and Richmond and who lectures at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.
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Bad teams are given mechanisms to recover, not lectures about bootstraps.
Verb
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Smullen’s campaign launched an anti-Constantino website that excoriates him for, among many other things, his past registration as a Democrat.
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Woodcutters sets forth the musings of a narrator sitting in an armchair at a dinner party who excoriates the literary awards establishments of his native land (and by extension all lands that are host to a robust bourgeoisie).
Verb
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The emperor reprimands her for being late for the rainmaking ritual.
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His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.
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Cite this Entry
“Castigates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/castigates. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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