1
: feeling a sense of danger : urgently worried, concerned, or frightened
I was alarmed to see how sick she looked.
And what followed was not a miracle but a … model of how tough government, cooperative businessmen and a very alarmed public can make a dirty world clean again.William Oscar Johnson
2
: equipped with an alarm
an alarmed door
Most exits were locked and alarmed, and employees had to show ID badges when they entered lab buildings.Jennifer Nagorka

Examples of alarmed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Lawmakers, including congressional candidate and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, are increasingly alarmed at the increasing costs to customers. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 22 Feb. 2024 Officials across the country have become growingly alarmed with an increase in deaths attributed to fentanyl overdoses over the last decade. Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 13 Jan. 2024 That is, aside from a few alarmed members of my family. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024 Classic Mikey Day performance here — increasingly alarmed. Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 10 Dec. 2023 But several leading lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, cautioned against being overly alarmed. Matthew Lee, arkansasonline.com, 15 Feb. 2024 The alarmed reaction from members of the right tends to be that public schools and colleges aren’t teaching, that Americans aren’t learning, that Americans aren’t being required to learn, or some combination of all three. John Tamny, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2024 The more his left fingertips probed, the more alarmed his expression became. Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 5 Feb. 2024 The Middle East’s arc of conflict is spiraling Other commentators are less alarmed. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'alarmed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of alarm entry 2

First Known Use

1702, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of alarmed was in 1702

Dictionary Entries Near alarmed

Cite this Entry

“Alarmed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alarmed. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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