alarming

adjective

alarm·​ing ə-ˈlär-miŋ 

: causing people to feel danger or alarm or to be worried or frightened

alarming news

The statistics revealed an alarming increase in childhood obesity.

alarmingly

ə-ˈlär-miŋ-lē

adverb

an alarmingly high rate of infection

Synonyms of alarming

• terrifying
• frightening
• scary
• formidable
• horrible
• terrible
• intimidating
• shocking

Examples of alarming in a Sentence

an alarming rise in her fever, causing the doctor to fear the worst

Recent Examples on the Web

People are often exposed to emotionally charged, alarming content online because social media algorithms tend to amplify it, Steier said. — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026

Such biometric age checks have proved controversial, unpopular with users, and alarming to privacy advocates, who see even the latest age verification tools as flawed. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2026

High Maintenance creator and actor Ben Sinclair described in a Substack post an alarming incident that demonstrated Watts’ glib attitude. — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026

Three separate bear attacks in Colorado on three consecutive days this week are the latest in an alarming rise of human encounters with the wild animals across multiple Western states, officials said. — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of alarm entry 2

First Known Use

1658, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for alarming

• disarming
• arming
• charming
• farming
• harming