alarms 1 of 2

variants also alarums
plural of alarm
as in warnings
the act or an instance of telling beforehand of danger or risk in a daring midnight ride Paul Revere gave the alarm that British troops were approaching

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

alarms

2 of 2

verb

variants also alarums
present tense third-person singular of alarm
1
2

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of alarms
Noun
Smoke alarms have detectors that sense small particles in the air, and the alarm triggers when a certain amount of particles is reached. Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 1 Nov. 2025 Poor safety measures — including lack of smoke extraction, faulty alarms, inadequate staff training and missing sprinkler systems — allowed fumes to fill upper floors. CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025 Fort Worth-area charities are sounding alarms as hundreds of thousands of North Texans are about to lose food stamps because of the government shutdown. Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2025 Security alarms drew Louvre staff to the scene within moments, but the thieves had already vanished with their haul. Barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025 In 2019, one exploded on a launch pad during a test in Russia’s Arctic, killing at least five scientists and triggering alarms over nuclear contamination, which was detected by European sensors. Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 30 Oct. 2025 During the president’s first term in office, his officials raised alarms about Beijing’s growing technological prowess, its military buildup, and its dominance over the critical minerals industry. Mira Rapp-Hooper, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025 Some might prefer visual color-coding, and others might need notifications and alarms as reminders. Ana Homayoun, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2025 After the jewels were taken, it was discovered that though alarms had functioned properly and staff had followed protocol, a security camera had been facing away from the gems. News Desk, Artforum, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
But what alarms him most is the silence from the business community. Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025 While Cherry is more versed at keeping her rage simmering just below the surface, Laura struggles to hide her anguish and disgust, which alarms those closest to her. Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 10 Sep. 2025 But the administration’s approach alarms other Jewish groups and erstwhile academic allies in the fight against campus antisemitism. Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alarms
Noun
  • The footage, however, does not clearly show what preceded the alleged incident or whether any warnings were given.
    Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
  • China conducted military exercises in Serbia in July despite stern warnings from the European Union, and Belgrade provides Beijing with a security foothold in Europe.
    Chris Massaro, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • James Cook is a great running back and certainly helps open up the passing game, and while the Bills have a decent tight end room and some average pass catchers, there isn't one wide receiver on the roster who scares teams.
    Jon Conahan, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
  • And yet, even though not having children is becoming more widely accepted and understood in our society, there’s something about a woman who has never been married that still confuses and scares people.
    Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In the short term, Jaime also worries that some workers may have no choice but to leave their children in less-than-ideal settings to keep working – like with an adult in the community who's informally looking after many of the children who would otherwise be in Head Start.
    Cory Turner, NPR, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Lyman also worries that money spent of fusion could siphon dollars from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
    Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Air raid alerts were in place in Kyiv and surrounding districts for around an hour and a half before the air force called them off shortly after midnight on Sunday.
    Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025
  • The online system allows text or email alerts to be set up whenever a new message arrives.
    Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Within my book, one of the things that frightens me most is the fact that with censorship, there’s often not a clear red line, right?
    Fiction Non Fiction October 2, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2025
  • What specifically frightens you?
    Tim Brinkhof, Big Think, 15 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The boomerang reaches new levels of significance Australian boomerangs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and typically, the feat of engineering behind them concerns the weapon’s ability to return to the thrower.
    Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2025
  • A lot of these products pack a larger caffeine punch, so if that concerns you then Naked Protein’s comparatively tame 95mg might be more your speed.
    Adam Campbell-Schmitt, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Prevent upsets to your meal (and upsets to your hungry guests) by making every spice, seasoning, and ingredient easy to find.
    Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2025
  • But the one thing that really upsets her on a plane?
    Meredith Lepore, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2025

Cite this Entry

“Alarms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alarms. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on alarms

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!