Definition of ADMONISH

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

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.

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 on the Web

The case was eventually dropped after a hung jury last year, but the Senate committee admonished Menendez over the gifts. — Washington Post, "Menendez and Hugin set sights on each other in Senate race," 31 May 2018 He was formally admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee earlier this year. — Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Fox News, "5 primary races to watch Tuesday that aren't in California," 4 June 2018 After days of being dressed down by the judge overseeing the Paul Manafort case, federal prosecutors sought Thursday to put their foot down -- filing a motion complaining that Judge T.S. Ellis III had unfairly admonished them in front of the jury. — Peter Doocy, Fox News, "Mueller team files complaint against Manafort trial judge over latest reprimand," 9 Aug. 2018 Judges regularly admonish the government to follow the rule. — Longreads, "The Bungled Bank Robbery That Ended in a Landmark Legal Ruling," 26 June 2018 Yet, according to their testimony, the drugmaker didn’t admonish or question the physician about Ms. Cozad’s allegations, and another AstraZeneca sales team continued to visit him. — Julie Steinberg, WSJ, "Difficult Conversation: When the Harasser Is a Client," 6 July 2018 When it ultimately was struck down on racial grounds, Republicans happily substituted a standard the Supreme Court has yet to admonish: politics. — Richard Wolf, USA TODAY, "Divided over partisan election maps, Supreme Court could learn a lesson from divided college campus," 14 June 2018 Hugin, however, running in the Republican primary spent a lot of time, or at least some, publicizing the fact that Senator Menendez had been admonished by the Senate for essentially doing the work of donors. — Fox News, "Sen. Toomey on move to curb Trump's trade authority," 10 June 2018 The interlude came shortly after Ellis admonished prosecutors in the early afternoon for seeking to introduce an exhibit that was dozens of pages long. — Gregg Re, Fox News, "Judge Ellis calls on Mueller team to 'really sharply focus' inquiries, as prosecutors ask witness about emoji," 9 Aug. 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.

History and Etymology for 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 mind entry 1

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.

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