While a word like rebuke suggests sternness and severity, admonish usually suggests friendly, gentle, or earnest criticizing done in the spirit of counselling and instructing.

ADMONISH definition: to caution, advise, or counsel against something. See examples of admonish used in a sentence.

Giving advice (Definition of admonish from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Admonish implies the giving of advice or a warning in order to rectify or avoid something: "A gallows erected on an eminence admonished the offenders of the fate that awaited them" …

If you admonish someone, you tell them very seriously that they have done something wrong.

To admonish is to scold. If you want to show someone you're not happy with his behavior, admonish him. Coming to English through Old French from the Latin admonere, "to advise, …

admonish somebody (to do something) to strongly advise somebody to do something. A warning voice admonished him not to let this happen. Definition of admonish verb in Oxford Advanced …

Jan 2, 2026 · admonish (third-person singular simple present admonishes, present participle admonishing, simple past and past participle admonished) (transitive) To inform or notify of a …

to correct or scold in a gentle manner:[~ + object] admonished the children to be home on time. ad•mon•ish•ment, n. [uncountable] See -mon-. to caution, advise, or counsel against …

These verbs mean to correct or caution critically. Admonish implies the giving of advice or a warning in order to rectify or avoid something: "A gallows erected on an eminence …