as in punitive
inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment
a chastening hour spent cleaning floors should discourage them from further pranks
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in punishing
to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime
chastened the child with five minutes of sitting in the corner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in humiliating
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in condemnation
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Recent Examples of chastening
Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 15 Sep. 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
Two months later, his side suffered a 5-2 defeat to Crystal Palace, followed by a chastening 5-0 loss away to Chelsea in May.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 14 Mar. 2025
Market shakeouts are about testing risk tolerances, forcing a rethink of unexamined premises and, at times, chastening the arrogant.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 3 Mar. 2025
Noun
In the chastening 5-1 loss against Chelsea, Enzo Maresca’s side realised peppering Hermansen with crosses was a worthwhile exercise.
—Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 15 Sep. 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
Two months later, his side suffered a 5-2 defeat to Crystal Palace, followed by a chastening 5-0 loss away to Chelsea in May.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 14 Mar. 2025
Market shakeouts are about testing risk tolerances, forcing a rethink of unexamined premises and, at times, chastening the arrogant.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 3 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chastening
Adjective
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The problem last season was many teams still opted to kick the ball in the end zone because the touchback wasn't punitive enough.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Relief from punitive tax rules could fuel profitability, but only for those ready to meet the federal government’s new demands.—
Robert Hoban,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But then, less than two years later, a punishing atmospheric river storm sent a large redwood tree crashing down the steep slopes of the forest, slamming into the main bridge and causing other damage to the new facilities.—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Hours before the suspension was announced, Carr raised the idea of punishing local television stations that continued to air Kimmel’s show.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This announcement, humiliating the involved member, is harmful.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
Oc Register,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Multiple investigations found that IRS officials used political keywords to flag right-leaning groups, sparking national outrage and condemnation.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
18 Sep. 2025
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In 2019, when a missile and drone strike on Saudi oil facilities – widely blamed on Iran – knocked out half the kingdom’s oil output and sent crude prices skyrocketing, his administration responded with only muted condemnation.—
Abbas Al Lawati,
CNN Money,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Further discrediting itself, Thursday’s writeup includes a marketing pitch for the SquareX platform.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
28 Aug. 2025
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Wolfenbarger’s defense attorneys began to focus on discrediting Norma as a witness after prosecutors relied on her testimony to show the jury that her daughter Melissa had allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of her husband before her 1998 disappearance, according to WSB-TV.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Learning anything new as an adult is humbling.—
Sarah Stockdale,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
So in this more cosmic sense, anyway, the Chiefs on Sunday hardly must beat visiting Philadelphia in a rematch of the humbling 40-22 TKO the Eagles administered in Super Bowl LIX.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The assessment was first reported by the Washington Post.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
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Defensive assessment The Horned Frogs’ defense did what it was supposed to most of the night against Abilene Christian, but the performance still left something to be desired.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Like legions of dreamers before him, McGuirk started on film and TV sets as a PA, an often thankless job where random castigations from members of the cast or crew can be par for the course.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chastening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chastening. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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