alarm

noun

Any sound or information intended to give notice of approaching danger; a warning sound to arouse attention; a warning of danger.

A device intended to warn or give notice of approaching danger.

Sudden surprise with fear or terror excited by apprehension of danger; in the military use, commonly, sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise.

A mechanical device for awaking people, or rousing their attention.

An instance of an alarm ringing, beeping or clanging, to give a noise signal at a certain time.

A sudden attack; a disturbance.

A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.

verb

(transitive) To give (someone) notice of approaching danger or necessary action; to rouse to vigilance; to put on the alert.

(transitive, of a device) To produce a warning of approaching danger or necessary action; to emit a signal intended to rouse a recipient to vigilance or put them on the alert.

(transitive) To surprise with apprehension of danger; to fill with anxiety in regard to threatening evil; to excite with sudden fear.

(transitive) To call to arms for defense.

(transitive) To keep in excitement; to disturb.

Roots

alleal- · Italian · to the armearm- · Italian · weapons, arms

Synonyms for alarm

alertadj tocsinn dismayn consternationn warningn affrightn panicn signaladj foghornn scarev

Synonyms & related words for alarm

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of alarm — including alert, tocsin, dismay, consternation, warning, affright. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to alarm

Explore words related to alarm — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include annunciator, doorbell, klaxon, beep, sirens, appall, bleeper, warningly. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for alarm

Common synonyms for alarm include alert, tocsin, dismay, consternation, warning, affright, panic, signal — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does alarm come from?

The word alarm breaks down into 2 roots of Italian origin: al-, from Italian alle (“to the”); and arm, from Italian arme (“weapons, arms”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.