Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To reprove gently but earnestly.
- v. To counsel (another) against something to be avoided; caution.
- v. To remind of something forgotten or disregarded, as an obligation or a responsibility.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To notify of or reprove for a fault; reprove with mildness.
- To counsel against something; caution or advise; exhort; warn.
- To instruct or direct; guide.
- To inform; acquaint with; notify; remind; recall or incite to duty.
Wiktionary
- v. To warn or notify of a fault; to reprove gently or kindly, but seriously; to exhort.
- 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.
- v. To instruct or direct; to inform; to notify.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To warn or notify of a fault; to reprove gently or kindly, but seriously; to exhort.
- 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. - v. To instruct or direct; to inform; to notify.
WordNet 3.0
- v. take to task
- v. admonish or counsel in terms of someone's behavior
- v. warn strongly; put on guard
Etymologies
- Middle English admonesten or admonissen, from Old French amonester (modern French admonester), from an unattested Late Latin or Vulgar Latin *admonesstrāre, from Latin admoneō ("remind, warn"), from ad + moneō ("warn, advise"). See premonition. (Wiktionary)
- 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. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
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.”
“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.”
“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."]”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘admonish’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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Familiar
Just a list of words
fulminate, unctuous, malediction, lumpenproletariat, descry, surfeit, sententious, supernumerary, unabashed, picayune, obliterate, decry and 109 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abject, abjure, abscission, abscond, abstemious, abstinence, abysmal, accretion and 787 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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(1st_wk_150)-Dec_5_2012
replete, steeped, eminent, indiscriminate, voracious, automaton, prognosticate, technology, abound, matron, tinge, compound and 297 more...
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EN - eloquence in public speaking
Key words from "The Training of a Public Speaker" by Grenville Kleiser (New York and London, 1920)
beget, imago, Vespasian, languid, studied, judgment, dwindle, artifice, contribute, observe, sonorous, gladiator and 264 more...
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JURI - courtroom speak
Legal glossary with special focus on courtroom vocabulary
accused, acquittal, ADA, adjournment, adjudication, affidavit, affirmed, aggravated range, aggravating factors, allegation, alleged, answer and 794 more...
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LIT - Iliad - key words and protagonists
abduct, abducting, abductor, Achaea, Achaean, Achilles, advise, Aegean, Aegean Sea, Aegina, aegis, Aeneas and 713 more...
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Verbages
puddle, kowtow, tessellate, defalcate, embezzle, enkindle, ablate, frivol, moonlight, tongue-tie, gobble, pettifog and 58 more...
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GRE Passage Words
admonish, ephemeral, ambivalence, antipathy, antithetical, countenance, deride, eclectic, enigma, ethos, expediency, impinge and 15 more...
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GRE 1100
drudgery, implore, hapless, nuance, wrest, incipient, inadvertent, tremulous, bristle, euphemism, disdain, pugnacious and 346 more...
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Verb ish
English verbs that end in -ish.
Most of these come from Old French stems that end in 'iss' like floriss-, brandiss-, distinguiss-, etc.
Exceptions are: Fish, Wish, Dish (f...flourish, brandish, vanish, astonish, perish, polish, nourish, famish, accomplish, admonish, banish, blemish and 24 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1818 more...
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5000 FREE SAT Words
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 229 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, replete, steeped, eminent, perceive, intrepid, compound, automaton, reticent, interminable, drudgery and 288 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for admonish.

chained_bear Used here. Jul 30, 2009