1. (v. t.) To punish or criticize severely; to inflict pain upon, by means of stripes, or in any other manner, for the purpose of punishment or reformation; to punish, as with stripes.
2. (v. t.) To reduce to order or obedience; to correct or purify; to free from faults or excesses.
Thesaurus Entries
admonish, baste, beat, belabor, berate, birch, bring to account, bring to book, call to account, cane, castigate, censure, chasten, chide, correct, deal with, discipline, flog, have words with, inflict upon, lecture, masthead, objurgate, penalize, pillory, pummel, punish, rate, rebuke, reprehend, reprimand, reprove, scold, scourge, set down, set straight, settle with, spank, square accounts, straighten out, take down, take to task, thrash, upbraid, visit upon, whip
