monition

American  

[muh-nish-uhn, moh-] / məˈnɪʃ ən, moʊ- /

noun

1. Literary. admonition or warning.

2. an official or legal notice.

3. Law. a court order to a person, especially one requiring an appearance and answer.

4. a formal notice from a bishop requiring the amendment of an ecclesiastical offense.

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monition British  

/ məʊˈnɪʃən /

noun

1. a warning or caution; admonition

2. Christianity a formal notice from a bishop or ecclesiastical court requiring a person to refrain from committing a specific offence

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Etymology

Origin of monition

1350–1400; Middle English monicio ( u ) n < Latin monitiōn- (stem of monitiō ) warning, equivalent to monit ( us ) (past participle of monēre to advise, warn) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

The tribunal ordered a "monition", a formal warning or caution, for all the charges.

From BBC • Aug. 26, 2025

This great big old bear of a man, you see, according to D.C. gossip Lloyd Grove, "enjoys the friendliest relations with the Washington media elite of any prospective candidate vying for the Republican monition."

From Salon • Dec. 22, 2010

One feels an eerie pre monition and vulnerability before the spectacle.

From Time Magazine Archive

And have we not felt our utter powerlessness, whether by public preaching or by private monition, to find a way to those case-hardened hearts?

From Letters to the Clergy On The Lord's Prayer and the Church by Ruskin, John

You might walk early or lie late, so shirk Week-day devotions: but stay Sunday o'er, And morning church is obligatory: No mundane garb permissible, or dread The butler's privileged monition!

From Browning's England A Study in English Influences in Browning by Clarke, Helen Archibald