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
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to reprove firmly but not harshly
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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
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have been admonishingperfect progressive
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has been admonishingperfect progressive
Past
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admonishedsimple
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had admonishedperfect
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was admonishingprogressive
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were admonishingprogressive
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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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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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
"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
But Mr Costello's testimony was contradicted by his own emails, and in an unusual and chaotic moment, a furious Justice Merchan cleared the courtroom so he could admonish Costello about his behaviour on the stand.
From BBC ● May 30, 2024
On several occasions, Byrdsong paused the proceedings to admonish audience members for what he saw as disruptions in the court gallery.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2024
I shouldn’t put her off, I admonish myself.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
“Consequently, the conference is imposing a $5,000 fine and admonishes all institutions to use the “out” designation only if there are no circumstances under which a student-athlete could participate in a game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
“NEVER attempt to remove a crab from its sea shell,” the sheet admonishes.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2025
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
The kindness gives way a moment when he snaps his fingers and curtly admonishes the guardias for not putting out chairs for his guests.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
He also admonished Nexstar for not providing that information in any of the hearings or in its filings with the court.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Yitzhak Rabin admonished his country to “fight terrorism as if there’s no peace process, and work to achieve peace as if there’s no terror.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
When admonished, “I must say, Mr. Burrows, you were pretty naive,” he smilingly answers, “I would say I was stupid.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
The court admonished the government and ordered it to pay legal expenses to the information commissioner.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
“Don’t talk about your father like that on Christmas Eve. Shame on you,” Mrs. Meecham admonished.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
In the video, neighbors can be heard angrily admonishing police officers for killing the dog while the woman, identified as Marie Marseille, held the animal, crying.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 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
“It has definitely empowered people,” Ali said, also admonishing the hospital for refusing to address Soliman publicly.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2025
He began to speak to us like a schoolmaster admonishing a naughty child.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
