admonish
Americanverb (used with object)
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admonishes,
present (3rd person singular)
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admonished,
past participle, past
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admonishing
present participle
verb
-
to reprove firmly but not harshly
-
to advise to do or against doing something; warn; caution
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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admonishernoun
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admonishmentnoun
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admonitionnoun
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preadmonishverb (used with object)
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admonitoryadjective
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admonishinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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admonishsimple
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admonishessimple
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have admonishedperfect
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has admonishedperfect
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am admonishingprogressive
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are admonishingprogressive
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is admonishingprogressive
-
have been admonishingperfect progressive
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has been admonishingperfect progressive
Past
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admonishedsimple
-
had admonishedperfect
-
was admonishingprogressive
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were admonishingprogressive
-
had been admonishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of admonish
First recorded in 1275–1325; late Middle English admonish, amonesche, admonesse, amoness, Middle English a(d)monest (with -t later taken as past participle suffix), from Anglo-French, Old French amonester, from Vulgar Latin admonestāre (unrecorded), apparently derivative of Latin admonēre “to remind, give advice to” (source of -est- is uncertain), equivalent to ad- ad- ( def. ) + monēre “to remind, warn”; cf. monitor ( def. )
Explanation
To admonish is to scold. If you want to show someone you're not happy with his behavior, admonish him. Coming to English through Old French from the Latin admonere, "to advise, remind," admonish is always used with an eye on improving someone's behavior. The exact meaning of this formal verb varies in intensity depending generally on who is being corrected. If a child or subordinate is being admonished, it means "scold" or "rebuke" whereas if someone admonishes a person with equal standing, warn or advise are closer synonyms.
Vocabulary lists containing admonish
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"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The home-plate umpire paused the game to admonish Santana for coming set before Caballero was looking at him, a transgression that could result in an automatic ball being added to the count.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Antonelli complained again about Russell's driving on the slowing down lap and Wolff again came on the radio to admonish him: "Kimi, we talk about this privately, not on the radio."
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
"We stayed to guard our soil," her daughter Najat al-Nour, a Quran professor in her fifties who lifted her chin high to admonish those who left.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
Savage went on to empower our community to admonish naysayers of queer party-going, community enrichment, and quality time — however we choose to define those terms.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2025
I’ve got to realize that when they continually admonish me to speak and write simply so that people who read these reports will be able to understand me, they are talking about themselves as well.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
“NEVER attempt to remove a crab from its sea shell,” the sheet admonishes.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2025
“Shame on you, Tiffany,” she admonishes herself now.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2024
The league sometimes admits mistakes and admonishes referees.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 11, 2023
Here she admonishes women of means who struggle to breastfeed.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 2, 2023
Their mother admonishes that the content of said tales may not be entirely appropriate for a pair of just barely thirteen-year-olds, but Mme.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
She served as lead attorney in the E. Jean Carroll case, during which the judge admonished her repeatedly for her poor legal skills.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
The judge reserved the question of what she called “guardrails for witnesses”—that is, whether Mr. Carroll’s alleged victims will be admonished or perhaps even penalized if they testify that he, rather than “she,” raped them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The court admonished the government and ordered it to pay legal expenses to the information commissioner.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Or, as Patchett’s mother once admonished after the failure of her daughter’s first marriage: “Stop trying to make everything permanent. It doesn’t work.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
He took his dinner off the stove where she had carefully covered it and which she had admonished us not to bother.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
In the viral video after the shooting, neighbors can be heard angrily admonishing officers for killing the dog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
Robert Mueller, who ran the FBI from 2001 to 2013, was known to adhere to Hoover’s G-man dress code of white shirts and dark suits, admonishing agents who wore something more colorful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026
"BASIL!" - the unmistakable sound of Sybil Fawlty admonishing her pompous and incompetent husband, is probably how Prunella Scales will best be remembered.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025
The network news closes with a thank you to visitors and with NBC’s Lester Holt admonishing us to take care of “yourselves and each other.”
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025
I can hear her admonishing me for wondering and hoping.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
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