admonish

verb ad·mon·ish \ ad-ˈmä-nish \

|Updated on: 20 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: admonish in a Sentence

Editor's Note: When Should You Use [admonish]?

Definition of admonish

admonished; admonishing; admonishes

transitive verb

1 a : to indicate duties or obligations to

b : 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

… users are admonished to change passwords regularly …
—Mark Pothier

3 : to say (something) as advice or a warning

The sign admonished, "Watch your step."

"Please be silent while I tell my story," LaPautre admonished.
—Louise Erdrich

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admonisher

noun, plural admonishers

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admonishment

play \-mənt\ noun, plural admonishments

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

Sometimes the reporters are admonished by their editors for being too voicey, too intemperate, too much themselves.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "The Fourth Estate in the Age of Bad Faith," 15 June 2018
Just this week an Ontario woman described as hangry was admonished by police for calling 911 to complain that a pizza place was taking too long to bake her pie.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Being Hangry is Real, But You Can Control It," 13 June 2018
Even though he was charged, the charges were dropped, but the Senate did admonish him.

— Fox News, "Sen. Toomey on move to curb Trump's trade authority," 10 June 2018
Zappala said he was similarly admonished by Chastain for sending patients to Lahey — which Steward also denies.

— liz kowalczyk, BostonGlobe.com, "Steward Health Care pressured doctors to restrict referrals outside chain, suit says," 24 May 2018
More recently, a group of Black pastors released a statement to further admonish the actress and activist.

— michael arceneaux, Essence.com, "OP-ED: Here's Why We Shouldn't Cancel Cynthia Nixon," 25 May 2018
Outrage ensued, with critics admonishing Leibovitz and the publication for showing Cyrus in such a mature light.

— hilary hughes, Billboard, "Miley Cyrus' Most Unapologetic Moments, From Twerking Through 'Bangerz' to Vanity Fair Flashbacks," 30 Apr. 2018
When these things happen, reporters are often admonished for not backing up their own work.

— danielle tcholakian, Longreads, "Digital Media and the Case of the Missing Archives," 6 Apr. 2018
Some admonished Smit for waiting so long to apologize.

— donna vickroy, Daily Southtown, "What happens when the bully apologizes 60 years later and the story goes public? 'Amazing grace.'," 19 May 2018

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 amonysshen, admonisshen, amonescen, alteration (with assimilation to the verbal suffix -issh, -esce, borrowed from Anglo-French -iss-, going back to the Latin inceptive suffix -ēsc-, -īsc-) of amonesten, borrowed from Anglo-French amonester, going back to Vulgar Latin *admonestāre, probably derivative of *admonestus, past participle of Latin admonēre "to give a reminder to, give advice to, caution" (modeled on comestus, past participle of comedere "to eat up, consume") from ad- ad- + monēre "to bring to the notice of, give warning" — more at ¹mind

Note: The source of *admonestāre is uncertain. A cross between admonēre and molestāre, "to disturb, annoy, worry," has been hypothesized, though the lack of any Romance progeny for molestus, molestāre, etc., militates against the presence of this verb in proto-Romance.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year