Alarm
[ə'lɑːm] or [ə'lɑrm]
Definition
(noun.) a device that signals the occurrence of some undesirable event.
(noun.) an automatic signal (usually a sound) warning of danger.
(noun.) fear resulting from the awareness of danger.
(verb.) warn or arouse to a sense of danger or call to a state of preparedness; 'The empty house alarmed him'; 'We alerted the new neighbors to the high rate of burglaries'.
Checked by Cathy--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.
(n.) Any sound or information intended to give notice of approaching danger; a warning sound to arouse attention; a warning of danger.
(n.) A sudden attack; disturbance; broil.
(n.) Sudden surprise with fear or terror excited by apprehension of danger; in the military use, commonly, sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise.
(n.) A mechanical contrivance for awaking persons from sleep, or rousing their attention; an alarum.
(v. t.) To call to arms for defense; to give notice to (any one) of approaching danger; to rouse to vigilance and action; to put on the alert.
(v. t.) To keep in excitement; to disturb.
(v. t.) To surprise with apprehension of danger; to fill with anxiety in regard to threatening evil; to excite with sudden fear.
Typed by Billie
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Alarum, larum, tocsin, summons to arms, alarm-bell, beat of drum, sound of trumpet, notice of danger, signal of distress.[2]. Fear, apprehension, terror, fright, affright, consternation, dismay.
v. a. [1]. Call to arms, summon to arms.[2]. Terrify, frighten, affright, startle, scare, daunt, appall, put in fear.
Edited by Claudette
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Apprehension, fright, fear, timidity, consternation, tocsin, war-cry, war-note,reveille, dread, {[af]?}, fright, disquietude, dismay
ANT:Confidence, security, quiet
SYN:Warn, wake, terrify, intimidate, frighten
ANT:Compose, embolden, reassure, rally
Editor: Margie
Definition
n. notice of danger: sudden surprise with fear: a mechanical contrivance to arouse from sleep: a call to arms.—v.t. to call to arms: to give notice of danger: to fill with dread.—adv. Alarm′ingly.—n. Alarm′ist one who excites alarm: one given to prophesy danger.—adj. alarming.
Edited by Davy
Examples
- But not so easily did Elinor recover from the alarm into which it had thrown her. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- There is no one else, and no sound could alarm those who are in the farther wing. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- In December, 1762, a circumstance which caused great alarm in the province took place. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- I don't want to alarm my aunt without reason, he said. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- He must be gone within a few hours, though without feeling any real alarm for his aunt, to lessen his repugnance. Jane Austen. Emma.
- He turned red and started back from her with a look of great alarm and horror. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- It was unmistakably the voice of a man in great alarm. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- That is what alarms me so much. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Such fire alarms can be exchanged automatically, or by operators, and are sometimes associated with a large fire-alarm bell or whistle. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- She knows what our real objects are, and she don't have any more alarms or suspicions about us, than if we was so many lambs. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Among the latest inventions are electrical connections with the safe, whereby tampering therewith alarms one or more watchmen at a near station. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Nervous alarms should always be communicated, that they may be dissipated. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Mr. Woodhouse talked over his alarms, and Emma was in spirits to persuade them away with all her usual promptitude. Jane Austen. Emma.
- The unusual nature of the demand on my judgment puzzled me, especially following the alarms of the night. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- After waiting some time Mrs. Clements became alarmed, and ordered the cabman to drive back to her lodgings. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- It was only when I had joined him there that I heard what had alarmed his quicker senses. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- There is really nothing to be alarmed about. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Mrs. John Knightley is easily alarmed, and might be made unhappy about her sister. Jane Austen. Emma.
- Our friend Mr. Skimpole--don't be alarmed! Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Rawdon thanked his sister a hundred times, and with an ardour of gratitude which touched and almost alarmed that soft-hearted woman. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Such constitutional monarchists as General Lafayette were seriously alarmed. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The girl's state was, to my thinking, downright alarming--and my mistress ought to be informed of it. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- There is nothing very alarming in his appearance. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Earnestness in you, is anything but alarming to me. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- With almost every other man in the world, it would be an alarming prospect; but Edward's affection and constancy nothing can deprive me of I know. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- But France was pursuing a very dangerous and alarming game, a game even more dangerous and alarming on the map than in reality. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Those clouds look alarming. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- Embarking would be easy, but the vision of open sea that might come after was alarming. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
Typist: Loretta