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admonish

[ad-mon-ish]
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verb (used with object)
  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.
  3. to urge to a duty; remind: to admonish them about their obligations.
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Origin of admonish

1275–1325; late Middle English admonish, amonesche, admonesse, amoness, Middle English a(d)monest (with -t later taken as past participle suffix) < Anglo-French, Old French amonester < Vulgar Latin *admonestāre, apparently derivative of Latin admonēre to remind, give advice to (source of -est- uncertain), equivalent to ad- ad- + monēre to remind, warn
Related formsad·mon·ish·er, nounad·mon·ish·ing·ly, adverbad·mon·ish·ment, nounpre·ad·mon·ish, verb (used with object)un·ad·mon·ished, adjective

Synonyms for admonish

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2. rebuke, censure, upbraid.

Synonym study

1. See warn. 2. See reprimand.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for admonished

exhort, enjoin, scold, chide, berate, warn, upbraid, censure, rebuke, reprimand, advise, ding, growl, notice, counsel, forewarn, hoist, rap, glue, reprove

Examples from the Web for admonished

Contemporary Examples of admonished

Historical Examples of admonished

  • He promised a continuance of his favors, and admonished them to be grateful.

    The Last of the Mohicans

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • At the first sign of it he was admonished with a vigor to deter his comrades.

  • "Let me beg you, sir, in your own interests to be serious," he admonished the prisoner.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

  • "What is written is written," he said in the voice of one who admonished himself.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

  • "Have a care of the sentinel on the hill-top," Sakr-el-Bahr admonished him, provoking a titter.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for admonished

admonish

verb (tr)
  1. to reprove firmly but not harshly
  2. to advise to do or against doing something; warn; caution
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Derived Formsadmonisher or admonitor, nounadmonition (ˌædməˈnɪʃən), nounadmonitory, adjective

Word Origin for admonish

C14: via Old French from Vulgar Latin admonestāre (unattested), from Latin admonēre to put one in mind of, from monēre to advise
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for admonished

admonish

v.

mid-14c., amonesten "remind, urge, exhort, warn, give warning," from Old French amonester (12c.) "urge, encourage, warn," from Vulgar Latin *admonestare, from Latin admonere "bring to mind, remind, suggest;" also "warn, advise, urge," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + monere "advise, warn" (see monitor (n.)).

The -d- was restored on Latin model. The ending was influenced by words in -ish (e.g. astonish, abolish). Related: Admonished; admonishing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper