tr.v. fus·ti·gat·ed, fus·ti·gat·ing, fus·ti·gates 1. To beat with a club; cudgel. 2. To criticize harshly: "Joe McCarthy .... fustigated Robert La Follette Jr., the incumbent whom he whipped in the GOP primary, as an isolationist" (Bill Kauffman). [Late Latin fūstigāre, fūstigāt- : Latin fūstis, club; see FUSTY + Latin agere, to do; see ag- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] fus′ti·gation n. |
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