alert

¹alert

adj \ə-ˈlərt\

Definition of ALERT

1

a : watchful and prompt to meet danger or emergency b : quick to perceive and act

2

: active, brisk

— alert·ly adverb

— alert·ness noun

Examples of ALERT

1. An alert guard stopped the robbers.
2. He was tired and had trouble staying alert while he was driving.
3. She wasn't mentally alert enough to answer the questions.
4. An alert watchdog guarded the door.

Origin of ALERT

Italian all'erta, on the watch, literally, on the height

First Known Use: 1618

Related to ALERT

Synonyms: Argus-eyed, attentive, awake, observant, open-eyed, tenty (also tentie) [Scottish], vigilant, watchful, wide-awake, on guard, on one's toes, on the alert, on the ball, on the qui vive, on tiptoe

Antonyms: asleep

Related Words: alive, aware, conscious, sensitive; cognizant, heedful, keen, mindful, observing, regardful, sharp, sharp-eyed; hyperalert, hypervigilant, sleepless, wakeful; careful, cautious, chary, wary; prepared, ready

Near Antonyms: absent, absentminded, absorbed, abstracted, daydreaming, dazed, distracted, dreaming, dreamy, engrossed, faraway, insensible, oblivious, preoccupied; sleeping, unaware, unconscious, unknowing, unwitting; careless, heedless, inattentive, unheeding, unmindful, unthinking, unwary; unprepared, unready

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See Synonym Discussion at watchful, intelligent

Rhymes with ALERT

advert, assert, avert, bellwort, birthwort, Blackshirt, brownshirt, bush shirt, camp shirt, colewort, concert, convert, covert, desert, dessert, dissert, divert, dress shirt, evert, exert, expert, exsert, figwort, fleawort, glasswort, hair shirt, Hastert, hornwort, inert, insert, invert, lousewort, lungwort, madwort, milkwort, mugwort, nightshirt, outskirt, overt, pay dirt, pervert, pilewort, ragwort, redshirt, revert, ribwort, saltwort, sandwort, Schubert, seagirt, sea squirt, soapwort, spearwort, spleenwort, stitchwort, stonewort, stuffed shirt, subvert, sweatshirt, toothwort, T-shirt, ungirt