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definitions

alarming

[uh-lahr-ming]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR alarming ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

causing alarm or fear: an alarming case of pneumonia; an alarming lack of respect.

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RELATED WORDS

distressing, startling, dangerous, disquieting, disturbing, frightening, frightful

Origin of alarming

First recorded in 1670–80; alarm + -ing2
Related formsa·larm·ing·ly, adverbun·a·larm·ing, adjectiveun·a·larm·ing·ly, adverb

alarm

[uh-lahrm]

noun

a sudden fear or distressing suspense caused by an awareness of danger; apprehension; fright.
any sound, outcry, or information intended to warn of approaching danger: Paul Revere raced through the countryside raising the alarm that the British were coming.
an automatic device that serves to call attention, to rouse from sleep, or to warn of fire, smoke, an intruder, etc.
a warning sound; signal for attention.
Animal Behavior. any sound, outcry, chemical discharge, action, or other signal that functions to draw attention to a potential predator.
Fencing. an appeal or a challenge made by a step or stamp on the ground with the advancing foot.
Archaic. a call to arms.

verb (used with object)

to make fearful or apprehensive; distress.
to warn of danger; rouse to vigilance and swift measures for safety.
to fit or equip with an alarm or alarms, as for fire, smoke, or robbery: to alarm one's house and garage.

Origin of alarm

1350–1400; Middle English alarme, alarom < Middle French < Old Italian allarme, noun from phrase all'arme to (the) arms. See arm2
Related formsa·larm·a·ble, adjectivea·larm·ed·ly [uh-lahr-mid-lee] /əˈlɑr mɪd li/, adverbpre·a·larm, verb (used with object), nounun·a·larmed, adjective

Synonyms for alarm

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR alarm ON THESAURUS.COM
1. consternation; terror, panic.

Synonym study

1. See fear. 8. See frighten.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for alarming

Contemporary Examples of alarming

Historical Examples of alarming

  • It hurt him to think that he had only succeeded in alarming her.

    The Foolish Lovers

    St. John G. Ervine

  • I was seized with a fever, which left me in a state of alarming debility.

  • It might, as you have said, be wiser to watch and wait, and to avoid all chance of alarming this man.

    Henry Dunbar

    M. E. Braddon

  • Everybody looked at Mr Willet, after this alarming suggestion.

    Barnaby Rudge

    Charles Dickens

  • On the whole, my reception was not so alarming as I had feared.

British Dictionary definitions for alarming

alarm

verb (tr)

to fill with apprehension, anxiety, or fear
to warn about danger; alert
to fit or activate a burglar alarm on a house, car, etc

noun

fear or terror aroused by awareness of danger; fright
apprehension or uneasinessthe idea of failing filled him with alarm
a noise, signal, etc, warning of danger
any device that transmits such a warninga burglar alarm
  1. the device in an alarm clock that triggers off the bell or buzzer
  2. short for alarm clock
archaic a call to arms
fencing a warning or challenge made by stamping the front foot
Derived Formsalarming, adjectivealarmingly, adverb

Word Origin for alarm

C14: from Old French alarme, from Old Italian all'arme to arms; see arm ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for alarming

alarm

v.

1580s, from alarm (n.). Related: Alarmed; alarming.

alarm

n.

early 14c., from Old French alarme (14c.), from Italian all'arme "to arms!" (literally "to the arms"). An interjection that came to be used as the word for the call or warning (cf. alert). Extended 16c. to "any sound to warn of danger or to arouse." Weakened sense of "apprehension, unease" is from 1833. Variant alarum is due to the rolling -r- in the vocalized form. Sometimes in early years anglicized as all-arm. Alarm clock is attested from 1690s (as A Larum clock).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with alarming

alarm

see false alarm.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.