admonish

[ ad-mon-ish ]

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.

admonish

/ ˌædməˈnɪʃən; ədˈmɒnɪʃ /

verb

1. to reprove firmly but not harshly
2. to advise to do or against doing something; warn; caution

Derived Forms

• admonition, noun
• adˈmonitory, adjective
• adˈmonisher, noun

Other Words From

• ad·mon·ish·er noun
• ad·mon·ish·ing·ly adverb
• ad·mon·ish·ment noun
• pre·ad·mon·ish verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of admonish¹

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 )

Word History and Origins

Origin of admonish¹

C14: via Old French from Vulgar Latin admonestāre (unattested), from Latin admonēre to put one in mind of, from monēre to advise

Synonym Study

See warn. See reprimand.

Example Sentences

Maybe she yielded to the far left, which admonished her for stigmatizing felons.

From Salon

Evangelist Franklin Graham admonished Trump not to use "foul language," the former president recalled, but Trump argued it is not a "real bad word" and "I don't use it much."

From Salon

Earlier in the day he gently admonished a reporter for being too critical of California racing.

From Los Angeles Times

Bertoli even played with his band, Court ‘n’ Disaster, at a fundraiser event opposing the consolidation — a band that he promoted with his judicial title and was separately admonished for in 2021.

From Los Angeles Times

In the interview, the former chief of staff said he had admonished Trump multiple times for making admiring statements about Adolf Hitler, such as, “You know, Hitler did some good things, too.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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