Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for sentinel

sentinel

[ sen-tn-l ]

noun

  1. a person or thing that watches or stands as if watching:

    The cats were the sentinels of the house, patrolling constantly for rodents, dogs, and other invaders.

    Synonyms: lookout, watch, guard, sentry

  2. a soldier stationed as a guard to challenge all comers and prevent a surprise attack:

    Lincoln refused to make his home mansion a garrison during the Civil War, but plain-clothes sentinels did patrol the property

    Synonyms: lookout, watch, guard, sentry

  3. Digital Technology. tag 1( def 9a ).
  4. Medicine/Medical. an indication or mark that a disease is present or prevalent:

    New viruses in the wastewater can be used as sentinels of future outbreaks.



verb (used with object)

, sen·ti·neled, sen·ti·nel·ing or (especially British) sen·ti·nelled, sen·ti·nel·ling.
  1. to watch over or guard as a sentinel:

    This monument sentinels each soldier's grave as a shrine.

adjective

  1. Medicine/Medical. relating to or being an indication of a disease's presence or prevalence:

    Pregnant women attending prenatal appointments serve as a sentinel population for the prevalence of malaria in the region.

    The sentinel lymph nodes are the first lymph nodes that the cancer cells reach if they spread.

sentinel

/ ˈsɛntɪnəl /

noun

  1. a person, such as a sentry, assigned to keep guard
  2. computing a character used to indicate the beginning or end of a particular block of information
“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

verb

  1. to guard as a sentinel
  2. to post as a sentinel
  3. to provide with a sentinel
“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
Discover More

Other Words From

  • sen·ti·nel·like adjective
  • sen·ti·nel·ship noun
  • un·sen·ti·neled adjective
  • un·sen·ti·nelled adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of sentinel1

First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French sentinelle, from Italian sentinella, derivative of Old Italian sentina “vigilance,” from Latin sent(īre) “to feel” + -īna -ine 2
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of sentinel1

C16: from Old French sentinelle, from Old Italian sentinella, from sentina watchfulness, from sentire to notice, from Latin
Discover More

Example Sentences

If musical theater had a canine sentinel, it might well be a standard French poodle.

Beal noted one of the sentinel signs that a farm has been infected is dead barn cats that have drunk the infected, raw milk.

One of the more ambitious scenes was a sentinel attack that decimates the mutants.

Intriguingly, the system being attacked normally works as a sentinel or guard, whose job it is to detect invading viruses.

The area has been named a sentinel landscape, a federally led effort to promote sustainable land-use practices near military installations.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement