castigate
verb /ˈkæstɪɡeɪt/
/ˈkæstɪɡeɪt/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they castigate | /ˈkæstɪɡeɪt/ /ˈkæstɪɡeɪt/ |
| he / she / it castigates | /ˈkæstɪɡeɪts/ /ˈkæstɪɡeɪts/ |
| past simple castigated | /ˈkæstɪɡeɪtɪd/ /ˈkæstɪɡeɪtɪd/ |
| past participle castigated | /ˈkæstɪɡeɪtɪd/ /ˈkæstɪɡeɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form castigating | /ˈkæstɪɡeɪtɪŋ/ /ˈkæstɪɡeɪtɪŋ/ |
- castigate somebody/something/yourself (for something) to criticize somebody/something/yourself severely
- He castigated himself for being so stupid.
- The minister castigated schools for falling standards in education.
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from Latin castigare ‘reprove’, from castus ‘pure, chaste’.