admonish

play

verb ad·mon·ish \ad-ˈmä-nish\

Definition of admonish

transitive verb
1a : to indicate duties or obligations tob : to express warning or disapproval to especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner were admonished for being late
2 : to give friendly earnest advice or encouragement to admonished them to be careful

admonisher

noun

admonishment

play \-mənt\ noun

See admonish defined for English-language learners

See admonish defined for kids

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Examples of admonish in a Sentence

“You landed in back of him,” said Paul, my guide and friend. As he admonished me, the fish turned obligingly, opened its mouth, wide and white, and engulfed my fly. —Peter Kaminsky, New York Times, 17 June 2001
He is sympathetic but never condescending, or patronizing, or moralizing. His purpose is not to admonish or deplore but to understand. —C. Vann Woodward, New York Times Book Review, 5 Feb. 1989
Cops are, from the first day in the academy, admonished that juveniles must not be shot unless in dire emergency … —Joseph Wambaugh, Lines and Shadows, 1984
They were admonished to take advantage of the opportunity.
my physician is always admonishing me to eat more healthy foods

Recent Examples of admonish from the Web

Merkel admonished Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s populist prime minister, referring to the Berlin Wall.

— kati marton, Vogue, "How Angela Merkel Became the Most Powerful Woman in the World," 18 July 2017
Favorit was admonished by his boss, but neither he nor his partner, Officer Umid Rakhimov, were disciplined.

— david harris, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando Police Officer Michael Favorit reassigned after 25 citizen complaints," 9 July 2017
White employees who had similar experiences got new phones and were not admonished, according to the lawsuit.

— talia richman, baltimoresun.com, "Two University of Maryland employees allege racial discrimination in lawsuit," 22 June 2017
An ecclesiastical panel deliberating the fate of an Episcopal bishop has admonished him to not attempt another sale of the St. James the Great Church in Newport Beach.

— hillary davis, Daily Pilot, "Episcopal panel warns bishop not to sell Newport's St. James church property," 20 June 2017
Bankruptcy judges in North Carolina and Pennsylvania have admonished the bank over the practice, according to the class-action lawsuit filed last week.

— gretchen morgenson, charlotteobserver, "Wells Fargo is accused of making improper changes to mortgages," 15 June 2017
After all, the comedian admonished young black men to pull their pants up, criticized poor black parents for the profane public behavior of their children, and did so in a very public way.

— solomon jones, Philly.com, "The generational divide over Bill Cosby," 13 June 2017
The comment came after other senators admonished the attorney general for refusing to answer questions about his discussions with president Donald Trump, despite having questionable legal grounds to stay mum.

— gordon r. friedman, OregonLive.com, "Jeff Sessions under oath: 'Sen. Wyden, I am not stonewalling' (video)," 13 June 2017
So the Treasury secretary has been admonishing lawmakers to lift the debt ceiling before quitting town for the August recess.

— tory newmyer, Washington Post, "The Finance 202: Trump team orphans House Dodd-Frank rollback," 12 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'admonish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

When Should You Use [admonish]?

Admonish was borrowed in the 14th century (via Anglo-French) from Vulgar Latin admonestare, which is itself an alteration of the Latin verb admonēre, meaning "to warn." Admonēre, in turn, was formed by the combination of the prefix ad- and monēre, "to warn." Other descendants of monēre in English include monitor, monitory ("giving a warning"), premonition, and even a now archaic synonym of admonish, monish. Incidentally, admonish has a number of other synonyms as well, including reprove, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, and chide.

Origin and Etymology of admonish

Middle English admonesten, from Anglo-French amonester, from Vulgar Latin *admonestare, alteration of Latin admonēre to warn, from ad- + monēre to warn — more at mind

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First Known Use: 14th century

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Synonym Discussion of admonish

reprove, rebuke, reprimand, admonish, reproach, chide mean to criticize adversely. reprove implies an often kindly intent to correct a fault. gently reproved my table manners rebuke suggests a sharp or stern reproof. the papal letter rebuked dissenting clerics reprimand implies a severe, formal, often public or official rebuke. reprimanded by the ethics committee admonish suggests earnest or friendly warning and counsel. admonished by my parents to control expenses reproach and chide suggest displeasure or disappointment expressed in mild reproof or scolding. reproached him for tardiness chided by their mother for untidiness

ADMONISH Defined for English Language Learners

admonish

play

verb

Definition of admonish for English Language Learners

: to speak to (someone) in a way that expresses disapproval or criticism
: to tell or urge (someone) to do something

ADMONISH Defined for Kids

admonish

play

verb ad·mon·ish \ad-ˈmä-nish\

Definition of admonish for Students

admonished

;

admonishing

1 : to criticize or warn gently but seriously The principal admonished a student for talking.
2 : to give friendly advice or encouragement I admonished them to keep trying.