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
The e-bike craze, which is putting many people, including kids, in the hospital at an alarming rate, has thus far defied similar regulatory frameworks.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
By mid-March, alarming snow deficits all over the Western states were capped off by a record-breaking heat wave that melted much of the remaining snowpack.
From Slate • Apr. 11, 2026
Although the surge in redemption requests among non-traded BDCs seems alarming, the firm believes investors are witnessing a liquidity-driven event fueled by fear, rather than a fundamental decline in credit quality.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
Under the morning sun the prospect of seeing a whole troop of them did not seem very alarming to him.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
