chast
en
Third Person
chastens
Present Participle
chastening
Past Tense
chastened
Past Participle
chastened
1
to make someone or something better or more reasonable by limiting excess or moderating behavior
transitive
- The loss served to chasten his overconfidence.
- Success had not chastened her ambitious spirit.
- Harsh reality can chasten unrealistic expectations.
- His tone was chastened by years of experience.
- The defeat chastened the team's arrogance.
Synonyms:
2
to improve behavior by imposing punishment or strict discipline
transitive
- The teacher hoped detention would chasten the disruptive student.
- Harsh training was used to chasten the recruits.
- He was chastened by the strict rules of the academy.
- The child was chastened after losing certain privileges.
- The court's ruling was meant to chasten negligent companies.
3
to strongly criticize or rebuke someone for their actions
transitive
- The editor chastened the reporter for factual errors.
- She was chastened for speaking out of turn.
- The minister chastened the government for its corruption.
- Critics chastened the director over the film's poor writing.
- He was publicly chastened for his offensive remarks.