SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
castigate
verb
To criticize or reprimand severely.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Criticize severely
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topExcoriate and lambaste are especially severe; castigate implies forceful disapproval.
RELATED FORMS, ONE FEATURED ENTRY
The castigate family
These forms are closely related, but their grammar and use are not identical. Expand a form to compare its meaning and examples.
castigationnoun
Severe criticism or reprimand.
Severe criticism or reprimand
Closest synonyms
Related expressions
The report offered a sharp castigation of careless management.
Public castigation did not replace the need to correct the error.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See castigate in use
The reviewer castigated the publisher for careless editing.
In a fictional museum, the director decided to castigate a guide who had knowingly invented histories for several objects and presented them as established facts.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license