admonished

[ad-mon-isht] / ædˈmɒn ɪʃt /

VERB

warn, strongly criticize

Synonyms

STRONGEST

advise berate censure chide enjoin exhort rebuke reprimand scold upbraid warn

STRONG

check counsel ding forewarn glue growl hoist notice rap reprove

WEAK

call down call on the carpet come down hard on draw the line give a going over give a piece of one's mind jack up rap on knuckles sit on slap on wrist speak to talk to tell a thing or two tell off

Antonyms

STRONGEST

allow compliment flatter laud permit praise

WEAK

applaud approve commend extol

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

An hour after police arrived, the watch commander admonished officers for failing that job.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

Dokoupil was admonished in an editorial meeting for how he questioned Coates about his new book, “The Message,” which examines the Israel-Gaza conflict.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025

A judicial watchdog commission publicly admonished an Los Angeles Superior Court judge for showing bias on Facebook and Twitter.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2025

"Don't ever say what you said," he admonished reporters.

From Salon • May 28, 2025

At that moment, their producer had passed by and admonished them both—as if Lyla had been doing anything more than just listening.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman