ALARMS Synonyms: 153 Similar and Opposite Words

alarms 1 of 2

noun

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

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alarms

2 of 2

verb

variants also alarums

present tense third-person singular of alarm

as in scares

to strike with fear I don't want to alarm you, but I think you should know there's a bear on your back porch

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in concerns

to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy alarmed at the skyrocketing cost of home heating fuel

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

At face value, young men exercising should not be reason to sound the alarms, and yet there is something treacherous about men in their formative years placing physical beauty as the ultimate expression of self-actualization. — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 27 Aug. 2026 The problem is, Isolde is very busy with work, so Ry is often left to herself with four alarms a day to take medication to prevent seizures. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026 Police installed alarms in the couple’s home and moved them temporarily to a safe house. — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026 Pascuala’s killing came weeks after Asháninka communities along the Peru-Brazil border raised alarms about armed incursions into Indigenous territories. — ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026 If nothing else, this weather gives people a chance to study up on the weather service’s hierarchy of hot-weather alarms. — Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026 Items like keychain alarms and luggage trackers can quietly become worn or outdated between trips. — Annita Katee, Travel + Leisure, 22 Aug. 2026 Getty Images Student loan borrower advocacy groups are raising alarms over the Education Department’s recent rollback of student loan forgiveness credit, warning that the efforts could trap borrowers in debt for additional months or years. — Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 Beyond noise and blanket fixes, couples with mismatched schedules can try staggered bedtimes and silent alarms. — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 20 Aug. 2026

Verb

That prospect alarms those in Europe, who fear FIFA could increasingly challenge their competitions for space on an already overcrowded calendar. — Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026 He becomes increasingly consumed by the otherworldly dimension, which alarms his therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve). — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 30 May 2026 The focal point of escalating concern is oldest son Jeremy (Edik Beddoes) whose increasingly erratic behavior alarms those around him, not only for his safety but others as well. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 7 May 2026 Whether that future excites or alarms fans, the law—not nostalgia or tradition—will determine who suits up in March. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 18 Mar. 2026 The development of Moltbook, with AI bots forming their own social media, alarms him. — Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 18 Mar. 2026 When something goes wrong, alarms fire. — Robert B. Shpiner, STAT, 13 Mar. 2026 Yet the price of gas seems likely to keep rising, which alarms Republicans. — Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026 The Corps has adamantly refused to conduct sediment testing for PFAS, which alarms local scientists and environmentalists like Burdette. — Patrick Sisson, Scientific American, 9 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for alarms

Noun

France is again under moderate wind or severe thunderstorm warnings, and another round of extreme weather is likely across Western Europe.

— Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2026
On Monday, shortly after authorities began downgrading some mandatory evacuation orders to warnings around Somersett, Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said people were already venturing too far into dangerous wildlands.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of warnings

Verb

Writer-director Jacob Chase is uniquely qualified to distill what really scares audiences.

— William Earl, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
The exposure obviously scares him, but not enough to stop him from filming his next scene, where he’s been tasked with breaking in newcomer Cami Soul.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of scares

Verb

The issue, also affecting manufacturers like Xiaomi and Xpeng, concerns unsafe emergency door-release systems.

— Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
However, as someone who has been studying Antarctic krill ecology and their role in the Southern Ocean ecosystem for 16 years, what currently concerns me most is how locally concentrated that harvest has become.

— Kim S. Bernard, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of concerns

Noun

The flooding also prompted alerts in northern India, where authorities evacuated thousands of people in Bihar as rivers flowing from the Himalayas rose.

— Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
Its members can save searches and receive alerts when matching one-of-one inventory appears.

— Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of alerts

Verb

Penelope, too, is asked to occupy a landscape that frightens her, not only as a neurodivergent child in a neurotypical culture, but as a child now situated in an adult world.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Aug. 2026
And for members who have a long history, who are used to running on that long history, that frightens them.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of frightens

Verb

The second is no small consideration in a system where sponsors are sued with some regularity, and Cerulli reports that worries about fees and litigation have slowed sponsors from changing their target-date arrangements at all.

— Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
Red velvet cake, but no happy surprises Cristi McGarey’s family often worries about the impact of what has felt like an unending deployment on her 22-year-old son.

— Chris Quintana, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of worries

Verb

Tilling or plowing in the summer disturbs the soil's delicate ecosystem and exposes moist soil to rapid water loss.

— Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 24 June 2026
The pier in Michigan City’s Washington Park disturbs the natural flow of sand along the lakeshore, creating new land east of the pier but starving beaches to the west, an erosion problem repeated by other manmade structures that jut out into Lake Michigan.

— Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 15 June 2026