admonish

American  

[ad-mon-ish] / ædˈmɒn ɪʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to caution, advise, or counsel against something.

2. to reprove or scold, especially in a mild and good-willed manner.

   The teacher admonished him about excessive noise.

   Synonyms:

   upbraid, censure, rebuke

3. to urge to a duty; remind.

   to admonish them about their obligations.

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admonish British  

/ ˌædməˈnɪʃən, ədˈmɒnɪʃ /

verb

1. to reprove firmly but not harshly

2. to advise to do or against doing something; warn; caution

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Related Words

See warn. See reprimand.

Other Word Forms

• admonisher noun
• admonishingly adverb
• admonishment noun
• admonition noun
• admonitory adjective
• preadmonish verb (used with object)

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”; monitor ( def. )

Example Sentences

An hour after police arrived, the watch commander admonished officers for failing that job.

From The Wall Street Journal

Gaines: What was needed was a glue, something to admonish and recognize both of those realities and how to bring them together.

From Los Angeles Times

And on Sunday, he was admonishing himself for it.

From BBC

“Mind the hair, Cassawoof,” he admonished, for she had grabbed the two pigtails as reins and was yanking them this way and that.

From Literature

In 2000, the EPA admonished naval officials for neglecting to inform residents that a fire had broken out at a hazardous landfill at Hunters Point.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• advise
• berate
• censure
• chide
• enjoin
• exhort
• rebuke
• reprimand
• scold
• upbraid
• warn