castigateverb [ T ]
uk/ˈkæs.tɪ.ɡeɪt/us/ˈkæs.tə.ɡeɪt/formalto criticize someone or something severely:
Health inspectors castigated the kitchen staff for poor standards of cleanliness.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Chastising & rebuking
- admonition
- barracking
- bawl
- be in sb's face idiom
- beat yourself up
- bring
- come down on sb like a ton of bricks idiom
- dressing-down
- keelhaul
- lambaste
- lay
- neck
- rebuke
- reprimand
- reproachful
- there'll be hell to pay idiom
- throw
- throw the book at sb idiom
- tirade
- upbraid
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castigation
noun [ U ] /ˌkæs.tɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən//ˌkæs.təˈɡeɪ.ʃən/
Examples
- That could mean jail or social castigation.
- There was a general castigation of young adults by their elders in that indulgent era as the Me Generation.
- The American administration was "deeply troubled" but fell short of outright castigation.
- The inquiry will be followed by much handwringing and the castigation of both individuals and local authorities.
They fear the castigation of their community.