Showing results for "warning"

• present participle of warn.

warning

American  

[wawr-ning] / ˈwɔr nɪŋ /

noun

• warnings
  plural

1. 

   the act or utterance of one who warns or the existence, appearance, sound, etc., of a thing that warns.

2. something that serves to warn, give notice, or caution.

   We fired a warning at the intruders.

   Synonyms:

   presage, augury, portent, sign, omen, advice, admonition, caution

3. Meteorology. an announcement from the U.S. National Weather Service alerting the public that a storm or other weather-related hazard is imminent and that immediate steps should be taken to protect lives and property.

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adjective

1. serving to warn, advise, caution.

   a warning bell.

warning British  

/ ˈwɔːnɪŋ /

noun

1. a hint, intimation, threat, etc, of harm or danger

2. advice to beware or desist

3. an archaic word for notice

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adjective

1. (prenominal) intended or serving to warn

   a warning look

2. (of the coloration of certain distasteful or poisonous animals) having conspicuous markings, which predators recognize and learn to avoid; aposematic

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• warningly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• warnings
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of warning

First recorded before 900; Middle English (noun); Old English war(e)nung “precaution”; see warn, -ing ¹, -ing ²

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Explanation

A warning is a caution against something dangerous. When there's a shark warning at the beach, the lifeguards will order everyone out of the water. When you receive a warning, you get an official advance notice of some impending problem. A crow might caw loudly as a warning when it sees a cat, and a traffic cop might give a first-time speeder a warning instead of an expensive ticket. You can also use warning as an adjective: "The warning light came on in her car as it started to overheat."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

warning warnings

The United Nation's famine warning system IPC has warned of the increased risk of food insecurity in Somalia due to supply chain issues exacerbated by the impact of El Niño.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2026

Now one prominent economist is warning that a zealous Fed could be a big risk for stocks headed into 2027.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2026

For starters, higher yields on already-issued debt are a warning about future financing, but not about the company’s current financing costs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026

Sudden “sneaker waves” can sweep far up the shoreline without warning, and narrow rock formations, caves, and alcoves can easily fill with water, the agency said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026

My attempt to think of Viola instead of the warning posters fails.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Dire safety warnings and escalating security breaches have become a regular feature of the tech world’s breakneck race for A.I. dominance.

From Slate ● Nov. 11, 2026

But amid the wail of near constant air raid warnings, there are still signs of people clinging on to life here.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026

The incident comes amid warnings up and down the coast of high tides and strong surf, boosted by El Niño conditions in the water, causing rip tides and other dangerous conditions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026

Japan and Australia already require similar warnings for these drugs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026

I began writing about the process of going from agency to agency, being categorized, being advised of my shortcomings, and having dire warnings sent my way.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

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Related Words

• admonition
• advice
• alarm
• alert
• caution
• example
• guidance
• hint
• indication
• information
• lesson
• notification
• prediction
• recommendation
• sign
• signal
• suggestion
• threat
• word

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