WAKE-UP CALL Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

wake-up call

noun

Definition of wake-up call

as in warning

something that tells of approaching danger or risk his high blood pressure was a wake-up call that he needed to do something about his health

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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 wake-up call The rising autism numbers presented by our CDC should be a wake-up call — there are a lot of us, and what’s truly increasing is the cost of ignoring our needs. — John Elder Robison, STAT, 23 Mar. 2023 The persistence of that finding should be a wake-up call for employers already battling high turnover and labor shortages. — Wire Services, Dallas News, 22 Mar. 2023 Those efforts show the pandemic has been a wake-up call, Horowitz said. — Rachel Scott, ABC News, 22 Mar. 2023 Texas is on an entirely different level than those teams and had a bit of a wake-up call against Penn State. — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 20 Mar. 2023 See All Example Sentences for wake-up call

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wake-up call

Noun

An extreme heat warning is currently in place for Death Valley, which is the lowest, hottest and driest portion of the North American continent and the United States’ largest national park outside of Alaska.

— Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
An additional 45,000 people were in the adjacent evacuation warning zone.

— John Raby, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of warning

Noun

Private equity’s growing interest in sports teams is another sign of the buying boom, said Irwin Kirshner, the head of the sports law group at the law firm Herrick Feinstein.

— Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
In hindsight, that was a sign of having lived in the bubble of NYC cinephile culture for 20 years by that time.

— José Salazar, IndieWire, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of sign

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wake (up)

wake-up call

wake-up calls

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“Wake-up call.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wake-up%20call. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of wake-up call

noun

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