alarming
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- alarmingly adverb
- unalarming adjective
- unalarmingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of alarming
Explanation
Something that's alarming is disturbing or upsetting. It can be alarming when you hear a sudden, loud crash of thunder. The idea of climate change is very alarming to many people, and the sound of a police car's siren is alarming when you're driving. Things that are alarming grab your attention, and either frighten you or at least unsettle you. The adjective alarming comes from alarm, via the Old French alarme, which is rooted in the Italian interjection all'arme, a rally or warning cry, "to arms!"
Vocabulary lists containing alarming
The Magician's Nephew
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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
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Uh-Oh: Synonyms for "Dangerous"
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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.
Sarah Sackman, the Labour MP for Finchley and Golders Green, said: "This shocking attempt to harm a local synagogue follows a series of alarming attacks on the Jewish community in Finchley and Golders Green."
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Delivery robots are both disappointing in their reality and alarming in their symbolic implication.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Another alarming aspect of this opinion is that it really seems like it’s written with the Supreme Court in mind as its audience.
From Slate • Apr. 9, 2026
Government inspections of nursing homes “found alarming instances of inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs and revealed vulnerabilities in care that have implications for the wider nursing home population,” the HHS inspector general’s office reports.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026
I cut out all distractions from my life so I could focus only on fencing, and yet alarming current events continued to dominate the headlines, making it very hard to stay focused.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
