wake-up call

Definition of wake-up callnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 wake-up call 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 Most important, the Fed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) got a wake-up call that their oversight of middle-size banks has been dangerously lax. Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2023 See All Example Sentences for wake-up call
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wake-up call
Noun
  • By then, wind chills below freezing were expected to reach the Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle with warnings in effect across the Southeast and in part of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas, forecasters warned.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Mar. 2026
  • The warning is for Death Valley, Western Mojave Desert, Eastern Mojave Desert, Including the Mojave National Preserve, Morongo Basin and Cadiz Basin.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The mere $2,365 traded on this unlikeliest of outcomes doesn’t raise red flags that anyone was tipped off.
    Gene Maddaus, Variety, 16 Mar. 2026
  • Vogelsang’s case particularly raised a red flag for me.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Despite City efforts like banning right turns on red and installing speed bumps and red light and speed cameras, deaths still occur.
    John Ramos, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
  • Police said the group of motorcycles continued traveling westbound until they were stopped in traffic at a red light on Main Street near the intersection of Clark Street.
    Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 13 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • New beginnings are possible under today’s energetic New Moon in your sign.
    Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Dubai, a major transit hub for international travel, briefly shut its airspace, the second disruption to flights in the city in as many days as the war showed no signs of abating.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Wake-up call.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wake-up%20call. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.

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