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

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. )

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

The home-plate umpire paused the game to admonish Santana for coming set before Caballero was looking at him, a transgression that could result in an automatic ball being added to the count.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 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

Gaines: What was needed was a glue, something to admonish and recognize both of those realities and how to bring them together.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025

But Mr Costello's testimony was contradicted by his own emails, and in an unusual and chaotic moment, a furious Justice Merchan cleared the courtroom so he could admonish Costello about his behaviour on the stand.

From BBC ● May 30, 2024

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

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz

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

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2025

“Shame on you, Tiffany,” she admonishes herself now.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2024

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

Their mother admonishes that the content of said tales may not be entirely appropriate for a pair of just barely thirteen-year-olds, but Mme.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

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

When admonished, “I must say, Mr. Burrows, you were pretty naive,” he smilingly answers, “I would say I was stupid.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

The court admonished the government and ordered it to pay legal expenses to the information commissioner.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

They did hear testimony from an anti–death penalty lawyer who was admonished for testing DNA on a water bottle without the person’s permission.

From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2026

The smile that had been ghosting across Miss Anderson’s face while Miss Preston admonished me drops off real quick, and Miss Anderson’s usual sourpuss face reappears.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

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

"BASIL!" - the unmistakable sound of Sybil Fawlty admonishing her pompous and incompetent husband, is probably how Prunella Scales will best be remembered.

From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025

“It has definitely empowered people,” Ali said, also admonishing the hospital for refusing to address Soliman publicly.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2025

He seemed world-wise and encouraged my aspirations as a writer, admonishing me to always “write my truth.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2025

I’m relieved, honestly—relieved that he’s himself and talking to me in the patient but admonishing tone people use to tell a five-year-old they’ve done something wrong.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

• berate
• castigate
• censure
• chide
• rebuke
• reprimand
• upbraid