Log in or Sign up

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To reprove gently but earnestly.
  2. v. To counsel (another) against something to be avoided; caution.
  3. v. To remind of something forgotten or disregarded, as an obligation or a responsibility.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To notify of or reprove for a fault; reprove with mildness.
  2. To counsel against something; caution or advise; exhort; warn.
  3. To instruct or direct; guide.
  4. To inform; acquaint with; notify; remind; recall or incite to duty.

Wiktionary

  1. v. To warn or notify of a fault; to reprove gently or kindly, but seriously; to exhort.
  2. v. To counsel against wrong practices; to caution or advise; to warn against danger or an offense; — followed by of, against, or a subordinate clause.
  3. v. To instruct or direct; to inform; to notify.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. v. To warn or notify of a fault; to reprove gently or kindly, but seriously; to exhort.
  2. v. To counsel against wrong practices; to cation or advise; to warn against danger or an offense; -- followed by of, against, or a subordinate clause.
  3. v. To instruct or direct; to inform; to notify.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. take to task
  2. v. admonish or counsel in terms of someone's behavior
  3. v. warn strongly; put on guard

Etymologies

  1. Middle English amonishen, admonishen, alteration of amonesten, from Old French amonester, admonester, from Vulgar Latin *admonestāre, from Latin admonēre : ad-, ad- + monēre, to warn; see men-1 in Indo-European roots.

Examples

  • “Merriam-Webster editor at large Peter Sokolowski says news stories about a member of Congress who shouted "You lie!" at the President sent the word admonish to the top of the list of frequently looked-up words in the online dictionary.”

    KansasCity.com: Front Page

  • “Staring at the nude female sunbather fifteen floors below, her tattooed backside exposed so that everyone in the surrounding high-rises could admire or cajole or admonish from the windows next to their cubicles, office workers on every floor calling friends or documenting the view with cell-phone cameras, I realized that no matter how holy or removed from the everyday we might be, we are all rubberneckers to the mundane absurdities that materialize seemingly out of nowhere.”

    July 2004

  • “In another "consensually-made recording," Andrew Russo was said to "admonish" Anthony Russo for taking part in a sitdown with the Gambino family over the stabbing of a Colombo associate.”

    The Huffington Post: Jerry Capeci: Nephew of Top Mobster Aids in Colombo Family Takedown

  • “[Footnote 2: So called by Ericsson because it would "admonish" the South, and also suggest to England "doubts as to the propriety of completing four steel-clad ships at three and one-half millions apiece."]”

    A History of Sea Power

  • “Mike Kiley wrote: I am giving my expert opinion as a doctorally trained political scientist; I do not need to give you a link. bagzzaf wrote: No I don't "admonish" those on the right for using the word communist, and I do not have to show that I've done it in the past to discuss AM760's assertion.”

    Denver Post: News: Breaking: Local

  • “John Maynard bagzzaf wrote: No I don't "admonish" those on the right for using the word communist, and I do not have to show that I've done it in the past to discuss AM760's assertion.”

    Denver Post: News: Breaking: Local

  • “No I don't "admonish" those on the right for using the word communist, and I do not have to show that I've done it in the past to discuss AM760's assertion.”

    Denver Post: News: Breaking: Local

  • “Depending on which dictionary you trust, either "admonish" (Merriam-Webster) or "unfriend" (New Oxford American) was anointed 2009's word of the year.”

    CBS 4 - South Florida's Source for Breaking News, Weather, and Sports

  • “Merriam-Webster's word of the year is "admonish," maybe because people didn't know what that meant after Rep. Joe Wilson's "you lie" moment.”

    Gothamist

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

‘admonish’ has been looked up 4683 times, loved by 6 people, added to 87 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 14.