alarmism

American  

[uh-lahrm-iz-uhm] / əˈlɑrmˌɪz əm /

noun

1. the tendency to raise alarms without sufficient reason or cause, such as by exaggerating danger or the likelihood of disaster.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• alarmist
  noun

Example Sentences

And despite Fox’s recent alarmism about streaming, it opted to give up Thursday Night Football, clearing the way for Amazon to get the rights.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

In his majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch—himself a gun rights enthusiast—dispatched with Oldham’s logic in a single paragraph, explaining that the judge’s approach favored hyperbolic alarmism over a statute’s actual “text and context.”

From Slate • Jul. 10, 2025

Despite its note of alarmism, the Economist article mentioned above asks that question in entirely reasonable terms.

From Salon • Jun. 29, 2025

Maya Forstater, of campaign group Sex Matters, said Dr McCloud's comments were "alarmism".

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2025

Let us beware, however, of exaggeration or alarmism.

From The Quarterly Review, Volume 162, No. 324, April, 1886 by Various