1
as in to punish
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime
chastened the child with five minutes of sitting in the corner
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to humiliate
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
the unexpected loss to a second-rate player really chastened the tournament's top-seeded tennis star
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chasten
Xi’s success in wielding its dominance over rare earths to chasten Trump World probably didn’t do any favors for Howard Lutnick’s job security as Commerce secretary.
—
William Pesek, Forbes.com, 30 Dec. 2025
Further, chastened by the backlash, the Warren Court, for the next four years with rare exceptions, maintained the status quo on a broad array of issues.
—Time, 14 Nov. 2025
The American suffered a chastening 6-0, 6-0 defeat to Iga Świątek in the Wimbledon final eight weeks ago, the first time in the Open Era that a women’s player has failed to win a single game in the final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
—Jamie Barton, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
Many have read Gödel and come away chastened by the limits of certainty—without concluding, as Richardson did, that the logical next step was to spend your life playing cards and paying prostitutes.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chasten
William Pesek, Forbes.com, 30 Dec. 2025
Further, chastened by the backlash, the Warren Court, for the next four years with rare exceptions, maintained the status quo on a broad array of issues.
—Time, 14 Nov. 2025
The American suffered a chastening 6-0, 6-0 defeat to Iga Świątek in the Wimbledon final eight weeks ago, the first time in the Open Era that a women’s player has failed to win a single game in the final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
—Jamie Barton, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
Many have read Gödel and come away chastened by the limits of certainty—without concluding, as Richardson did, that the logical next step was to spend your life playing cards and paying prostitutes.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chasten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chasten
Verb
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Moderate exercise helps, but high-intensity overtraining can raise cortisol further, worth knowing if punishing workouts are already part of a stressed routine.—
Allison Palmer,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2026
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On Wednesday morning, that tally stood at a hefty seven hundred and thirty-four, with cases ranging from the President’s immigration policies to his dismantling of disfavored agencies to his effort to punish law firms to his ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Rockies have been humiliated before in their first home game, but never as badly as this.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2026
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The leadership of the country that has threatened the stability and prosperity of the world will eventually be ousted, disempowered and humiliated.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Dublin congressman told KRON that the White House hopes to discredit him in the race as a frequent critic and to boost the chances of his Republican rivals.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
29 Mar. 2026
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That is certainly one way to discredit someone.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And when that happens, Jamahl Mosley — a good coach and an even better man — will be the fall guy for a team that is embarrassing itself on a national scale and getting exposed in the league standings.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
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The very existence of Tisch’s relationship and conversations with Epstein, which are not in dispute, should be enough to embarrass the NFL.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chasten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chasten. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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