chastise
verb
(ˌ)cha-ˈstīz
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If you want to understand the meaning of chastise (which comes from the Anglo-French verb castier, meaning “to discipline”), you could do worse than to turn to popular music. Pop, rap, jazz, rock, country—there’s not a single genre that isn’t full of songs penned from the point of view of jilted and/or cheated lovers chastising—that is, harshly criticizing—the one who did them wrong. Nearly every song on Beyoncé’s 2016 album Lemonade, for example, is a master class in chastisement (chastisement being, of course, the noun form of chastise), featuring such lyrics as “What a wicked way to treat the girl that loves you” and “Ten times out of nine, I know you’re lying.” Chastise itself pops up in lyrics occasionally, too, as sung by artists including Guns N’ Roses (“So don’t chastise me or think I mean you harm”), Dr. Dre (“Fool, you better recognize / Death Row came to chastise”), and Janet Jackson (“Control and chastise / An instrument of punishment / Like a whip”). Jackson’s use is notable in particular for representing the word’s oldest sense, less common but still in use, of “to inflict punishment on (as with a whip).”
Synonyms
Examples of chastise in a Sentence
Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2024
After the district chastised Doe for using the boys restroom, other students began to harass him over his gender identity, according to the suit.
—Tyler Kingkade, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
Rams offensive line coach Ryan Wendell was furious, and ran yelling to not only break up the ensuing fight but also to chastise Huggins, who was ejected from practice (but stayed on the sideline).
—Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 14 Aug. 2024
The 60-year-old continued his cryptic message, chastising liars and those who propagate and promote falsehoods and inauthenticity.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chastise 
Dictionary Entries Near chastise
Cite this Entry
“Chastise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chastise. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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chastise
verb
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