Post date: May 17, 2017 10:38:44 AM

castigate

verb KASS-tuh-gayt

Definition

: to subject to severe punishment, reproof, or criticism

Examples

Before sentencing, the judge angrily castigated the two young defendants for their malicious act of vandalism.

"You know, if [dandelions] weren't castigated as the No. 1 lawn weed, we all probably would love them. With their sunny little faces looking upward toward the sky and the strong, pointed green foliage, they really are beautiful plants." — Mary Stickley-Godinez, The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), 24 Apr. 2017