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To chasten is to discipline, punish, or severely criticize, especially with the intention of improving someone’s behavior.

Chasten has many shades of meaning that are all somewhat similar. It can mean to tame or subdue, or to moderate or restrain someone’s behavior. In all cases, it typically involves some form of discipline or negative consequences for the person being chastened.

Chasten is a relatively formal word, and so are its close synonyms (like chastise, castigate, and reprimand), but it’s probably used less commonly than they are.

It’s often associated with Christian or other religious language due to its use in some translations of the Bible.

Example: My grandfather grew up in a boarding school, where he was chastened for even the most minor infractions.

The first records of chasten come from the 1520s. It comes from the French chastier, ultimately from the Latin �������پ��������, meaning “correct” or “punish,” or, more literally, “to drive to faultlessness” or “to compel to be pure.” The synonyms chastise and castigate also come from the same root.

The word chastise especially refers to corporal punishment, meaning physical violence used as punishment. No doubt, the word chasten has also been used to refer to such punishment throughout its history, and the word still implies some amount of suffering from the discipline being used. However, as the word is used today, that discipline typically refers to things like harsh scolding or other nonphysical punishments intended to get the recipient to stop behavior considered immoral or otherwise bad, as in My mother chastens me for my temper by making me think about what I do whenever I lose it. A temper itself can be chastened, or moderated. Similarly, chasten can also mean “to restrain or subdue,” as in Maturity has chastened my hastiness.

What are some other forms related to chasten?

• chastener (noun)
• chasteningly (adverb)
• chastenment (noun)
• unchastened (adjective)

What are some synonyms for chasten?

• chastise
• castigate
• reprimand
• reproach
• rebuke
• upbraid
• abase
• restrain
• tame

What are some words that share a root or word element with chasten?��

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• chaste
• chastity
• chastise
• castigate

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What are some words that often get used in discussing chasten?

• discipline
• behavior
• improve
• moral
• parent

Chasten is a formal word that’s less commonly used than some of its synonyms, like chastise and reprimand. It’s sometimes used in religious contexts, especially in Bible verses.

I watched a doctor chasten some nurses. I should have said something, but I quietly observed. The doctor 's demands would improve outcomes for his patient, but that was lost in his tantrum. If I am ever in this situation I hope I chose to educate instead of humiliate.

— Mimi 18% certified organic carbon 1% chemical x (@mimidancer)

The spartan productions that followed not only redefined what a Broadway show could be but also became symbolic of the challenges and triumphs of making art in a New York chastened by the 2008 financial crisis.

— 🦩Blake Deadly🦩 (@blakepruitt)

“Behold, happy is the man whom God reproves; therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty.”

— Job 5.17

— RSV Catholic Edition (@RSV_CE)

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of chasten?��

A. rebuke
B. upbraid
C. scold
D. praise