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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

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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

Examples from the Web for admonished

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • 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

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