admonish

American  

[ad-mon-ish] / ædˈmɒn ɪʃ /

verb (used with object)

• admonishes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• admonished,
  past participle,  past
• admonishing
  present participle

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  

/ ədˈmɒnɪʃ /

verb

1. to reprove firmly but not harshly

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

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Synonym Usage

See warn. See reprimand.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

• admonishing
  present
• admonished
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• admonish
  simple
• admonishes
  simple
• have admonished
  perfect
• has admonished
  perfect
• am admonishing
  progressive
• are admonishing
  progressive
• is admonishing
  progressive
• have been admonishing
  perfect progressive
• has been admonishing
  perfect progressive

Past

• admonished
  simple
• had admonished
  perfect
• was admonishing
  progressive
• were admonishing
  progressive
• had been admonishing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will admonish
  simple
• will have admonished
  perfect
• will be admonishing
  progressive
• will have been admonishing
  perfect progressive

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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”; cf. monitor ( def. )

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Explanation

To admonish is to scold. If you want to show someone you're not happy with his behavior, admonish him. Coming to English through Old French from the Latin admonere, "to advise, remind," admonish is always used with an eye on improving someone's behavior. The exact meaning of this formal verb varies in intensity depending generally on who is being corrected. If a child or subordinate is being admonished, it means "scold" or "rebuke" whereas if someone admonishes a person with equal standing, warn or advise are closer synonyms.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

admonish admonishes admonished admonishing

As a preliminary matter, the Court finds it necessary to admonish Plaintiff’s counsel for their unprofessionalism and incivility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

"We stayed to guard our soil," her daughter Najat al-Nour, a Quran professor in her fifties who lifted her chin high to admonish those who left.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

The fine may have been less than some traffic tickets, but it’s nearly unheard for a judge to formally admonish a government lawyer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026

He’d later gently admonish a request for the Velvet Underground’s “Venus In Furs,” explaining that there was no way he could play it without a viola.

From Salon ● May 27, 2025

I don’t even wait for her to admonish me.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz

Although Yaba also laments that no one excelling in his stage of the game, he also admonishes his pal, “You shouldn’t use this world for your own pleasure.”

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2025

“NEVER attempt to remove a crab from its sea shell,” the sheet admonishes.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2025

The league sometimes admits mistakes and admonishes referees.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 11, 2023

Here she admonishes women of means who struggle to breastfeed.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 2, 2023

The kindness gives way a moment when he snaps his fingers and curtly admonishes the guardias for not putting out chairs for his guests.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

There’s established law there, and trial courts have, on the whole, held, and when they haven’t, they’ve been admonished or overturned on appeal.

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026

Keaton reportedly confronted the teenage fans and admonished them during the game.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

He also admonished Nexstar for not providing that information in any of the hearings or in its filings with the court.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Yitzhak Rabin admonished his country to “fight terrorism as if there’s no peace process, and work to achieve peace as if there’s no terror.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Also, my mother admonished us to bow our heads when we passed in front of the house.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

Robert Mueller, who ran the FBI from 2001 to 2013, was known to adhere to Hoover’s G-man dress code of white shirts and dark suits, admonishing agents who wore something more colorful.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026

And on Sunday, he was admonishing himself for it.

From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025

My adolescent memories ring with the sounds of Stiller admonishing his son-in-law and crying mutiny at a shopping mall pretzel shop.

From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2025

Spencer was years ahead of other Republicans in admonishing the GOP to be more welcoming to Latinos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2025

She had come looking for her sister—no doubt with the exhilarated notion of protecting her, or admonishing her, and had heard a noise from behind the closed library door.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

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Related Words

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