MEANING
To rebuke someone or something in a strongly disapproving way.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- castigate a decision
- castigate someone for negligence
On the page
The judge castigated the officers for ignoring the warning.
Her letter castigated the decision without attacking the clerk who delivered it.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- castigate
- Past tense
- castigated
- Past participle
- castigated
- Present participle
- castigating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- castigate
- Present continuous
- am/is/are castigating
- Present perfect
- have/has castigated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been castigating
- Past
- castigated
- Past continuous
- was/were castigating
- Past perfect
- had castigated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been castigating
- Future
- will castigate
- Future continuous
- will be castigating
- Future perfect
- will have castigated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been castigating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: castigate; castigates; castigated; castigated; castigating Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: castigates.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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