CHASTISING Synonyms: 117 Similar and Opposite Words

chastising 1 of 2

adjective

as in punitive

inflicting, involving, or serving as punishment a chastising lecture on the proper care and feeding of the dog

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

chastising

2 of 2

verb

present participle of chastise

as in scolding

to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings a cold, distant father who rarely paid attention to his children except to chastise them

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in punishing

to inflict a penalty on for a fault or crime the division of opinion regarding the appropriate way to chastise juvenile perpetrators of adult crimes

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of chastising

Verb

Seconds later, Vitello was tossed from the game and a hot mic caught third base umpire Lance Barrett chastising the Giants manager. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026 When the House Committee smeared me on TV and sent letters chastising Northwestern during the Biden administration, suddenly my Palestine solidarity speech became a fireable offense. — Literary Hub, 14 July 2026 Daemon chastising Ulf and Hugh over their disobedience, sowing the seeds of their discontent. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 So the painting, which is an image of a maternal figure chastising her child, kind of foreshadows the plot. — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 28 June 2026 The governor took to social media on June 24, chastising the president for canceling the bipartisan housing reform package. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 24 June 2026 Some have been more vocal than others, publicly chastising him for his opacity ahead of what is expected to be a competitive general election race. — Connor Greene, Time, 29 May 2026 Almost immediately after releasing Einstein, Paliwal started receiving emails from professors chastising him for creating a tool seemingly designed to perpetuate academic fraud. — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026 San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, the newest major candidate to enter the race, hewed toward partisan middle ground, chastising leaders in Sacramento for allowing the state budget to balloon without tangible improvements to housing affordability, homelessness and public schools. — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chastising

Adjective

The Department of Defense attempted to blacklist Anthropic in February after the company refused to remove restrictions on its AI models being used for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance, a move widely seen as punitive.

— Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Defense attorneys described their confinement as effectively punitive segregation even though the brothers had not committed disciplinary violations.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of punitive

Verb

Historically, the United States has sent mixed messages to Europeans, encouraging them to step up but then scolding them for seeking autonomy.

— JENNIFER KAVANAGH, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026
Rather than scolding parents about screens, society could do more to support families in ways that obviate the need for screen time.

— Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of scolding

Verb

If the teams refuse to enroll the players who benefit from the TRO, those players could petition Hoffman to clarify that his order also blocks the SEC from punishing schools.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Tristan described life at the Federal Detention Center as physically and psychologically punishing.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of punishing

Verb

Approaching hesitant individuals Health experts said that addressing vaccine-hesitant people starts with listening rather than lecturing.

— Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026
Today, young people are increasingly frustrated with the hypocrisy of politicians lecturing them about the virtues of voting while in practice facilitating disengagement.

— David Neil, New York Daily News, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of lecturing

Verb

Republican lawmaker Carl DeMaio of San Diego has vocalized his opposition in discussions of the bill, criticizing the idea of providing funding to outlets that make political endorsements.

— Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Yiannopoulos rose to prominence through his provocative statements criticizing political correctness, feminism and Islam.

— Chris Arnold, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of criticizing

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chastises

chastising

chastity

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“Chastising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chastising. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of chastising

adjective

verb

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