Dictionary

warn en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /wɔːn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /wɔɾn/ (Scotland)
• /woːn/ (Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard)
• /woɹn/ (General-American)
• /wɒn/ (Eastern-New-England)
• /wɔːn/ Manchester
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English warnen, warnien (“to warn; admonish”), from Old English warnian (“to take heed; warn”), from Proto-Germanic *warnōną (“to warn; take heed”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to be aware; give heed”). Cognate with Dutch waarnen (obsolete), German Low German warnen, German warnen, Swedish varna, Icelandic varna.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To make (someone) aware of (something impending); especially: ▸ To make (someone) aware of impending danger, evil, etc.
   • We waved a flag to warn the oncoming traffic about the accident.
   • I phoned to warn him of the road closure.
2. (transitive) To make (someone) aware of (something impending); especially: ▸ To notify or inform (someone, about something).
   • I warned him he'd be getting a huge box of birthday presents from me.
3. (transitive) To make (someone) aware of (something impending); especially: ▸ To summon (someone) to or inform of a formal meeting or duty.
   • The people had been invited to the funeral, or warnt, by a special messenger a few days before the funeral took place. 1874, Walter Gregor, An Echo of the Olden Time from the North of Scotland, page 142:
   • The sheriff warned her to appear in court.
   • [...] the plaintiff fraudulently warned the meeting for November 15, giving only five days' notice [...] 1889, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the [State of] Vermont, page 490:
   • Committee being warned these following were absent or short … 1741–2 March 4, Books of Keelman's Hospital, Newcastle, quoted in Northumberland Words (1894)
4. (ambitransitive, obsolete, of a clock, possibly, transitive) To make (someone) aware of (something impending); especially: ▸ To make a sound (e.g. clicking or whirring) indicating that it is about to strike or chime (an hour).
   • Hark! the clock is warning ten; 1885, Walter Towers, Poems, Songs, and Ballads, page 189:
   • No, not a word more, Andrew; the clock has warned for nine, and I am off. 1885, Emma Marshall, In the East Country with Sir Thomas Browne, page 106:
   • The clock warned, and the hands pointed to a few minutes before the hour. The preacher looked towards it. "And, as you sit here," he cried," the Old Year is dragging out its last moments and the New Year is coming up —" 1902, Violet Jacob, The Sheep-Stealers, page 399:
5. (transitive) To caution or admonish (someone) against unwise or unacceptable behaviour.
   • He was warned against crossing the railway tracks at night.
   • Don't let me catch you running in the corridor again, I warn you.
6. (qualifier:"away"; and similar words; "away"; and similar words, with "off") To advise or order to go or stay away.
   • A sign warns trespassers off/away from the site.
7. (intransitive) To give warning.
   • She is his deepest innocence in spaces of bough and hay before wishes were given a different name to warn that they might not come true [...]. 1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow, Penguin, published 1995, page 177:
   • then Iames Cephas and Iohn [...] agreed with vs that we shuld preache amonge the Hethen and they amonge the Iewes: warnynge only that we shulde remember the poore. 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Galatians :[9-10]:
   • She warned that he was seriously thinking of withdrawing his offer to part the waters, ‘so that all you'll get at the Arabian Sea is a saltwater bath [...]’. 1988, Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses, Picador, published 2000, page 496:
   • Every country has its resident experts who warn that imported television will destroy the national consciousness and replace it with Dallas, The Waltons, Star Trek and Twin Peaks. 1991, Clive James, “Making Programmes the World Wants”, in The Dreaming Swimmer, Jonathan Cape, published 1992:

Forms

Deriveds

warnable · warner · forewarn · content warn · warning · forwarn · overwarn · awarn · prewarn · diswarn · rewarn · warn off · miswarn

Synonyms

foretoken

Translations (124)

fi varoittaa (to make someone aware of impending danger) · nl verwittigen (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ro alerta (to make someone aware of impending danger) · lo ເຕືອນ (to make someone aware of impending danger) · uk попереджа́ти (to notify someone of something) · sv förvarna (to notify someone of something) · msk bara (to make someone aware of impending danger) · hu figyelmeztet (to make someone aware of impending danger) · gl deñar (to make someone aware of impending danger) · de warnen (to notify someone of something) · es avisar (to make someone aware of impending danger) · fr avertir (to make someone aware of impending danger) · uz ogohlantirmoq (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ro avertiza (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ru предупреди́ть (to notify someone of something) · tl ipababala (to make someone aware of impending danger) · tg огоҳ кардан (to make someone aware of impending danger) · kk ескерту (to make someone aware of impending danger) · el προειδοποιώ (to make someone aware of impending danger) · pl uprzedzać (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sw ashiria (to notify someone of something) · ca avisar (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ru предупрежда́ть (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ja 警告する (to make someone aware of impending danger) · cy rhybuddio (to make someone aware of impending danger) · fa-ira هُشْدار دادَن (to make someone aware of impending danger) · gl advertir (to make someone aware of impending danger) · de mahnen (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sh упозора́вати (to make someone aware of impending danger) · be папярэ́дзіць (to make someone aware of impending danger) · el προειδοποιώ (to notify someone of something) · gl aprenxer (to make someone aware of impending danger) · hy զգուշացնել (to make someone aware of impending danger) · is aðvara (to make someone aware of impending danger) · nl verwittigen (to notify someone of something) · fa-ira اِخْطار دادَن (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sv varna (to make someone aware of impending danger) · mk предупреди (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ml മുന്നറിയിപ്പ് നൽകുക (to make someone aware of impending danger) · da advare (to make someone aware of impending danger) · cmn 提醒 (to make someone aware of impending danger) · cmn 警戒 (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sl svariti (to make someone aware of impending danger) · fr alerter (to make someone aware of impending danger) · hi चेताना (to make someone aware of impending danger) · th เตือน (to make someone aware of impending danger) · cu варити (to make someone aware of impending danger) · de warnen (to make someone aware of impending danger) · my သတိပေး (to make someone aware of impending danger) · mk предупредува (to make someone aware of impending danger) · fi varoittaa (intransitive: to give warning) · pl ostrzegać (to make someone aware of impending danger) · es amonestar (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sh упозо̀рити (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ru предостере́чь (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sk vystríhať (to make someone aware of impending danger) · zza iqaz kerden (to make someone aware of impending danger) · tl babalaan (to make someone aware of impending danger) · lv brīdināt (to make someone aware of impending danger) · nl waarnen (to notify someone of something) · pl ostrzec (to make someone aware of impending danger) · lt įspėti (to make someone aware of impending danger) · uk попере́джувати (to make someone aware of impending danger) · vi cảnh báo (to make someone aware of impending danger) · eu abisatu (to make someone aware of impending danger) · eo averti (to make someone aware of impending danger) · az xəbərdar etmək (to make someone aware of impending danger) · es advertir (to make someone aware of impending danger) · grc νουθετέω (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ru предупреди́ть (to make someone aware of impending danger) · nl waarnen (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ca advertir (to make someone aware of impending danger) · fr prévenir (to notify someone of something) · pt alertar (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ka გაფრთხილება (to make someone aware of impending danger) · gl avisar (to make someone aware of impending danger) · fa-ira تَنْبیه کَرْدَن (to make someone aware of impending danger) · nl waarschuwen (to make someone aware of impending danger) · be папярэ́джваць (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sq paralajmëroj (to make someone aware of impending danger) · lt perspėti (to make someone aware of impending danger) · pt advertir (to make someone aware of impending danger) · it avvisare (to make someone aware of impending danger) · tr uyarmak (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ky эскертүү (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sv varsko (to make someone aware of impending danger) · it avvertire (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ga fógra a thabhairt do (to make someone aware of impending danger) · cs upozornit (to make someone aware of impending danger) · pl uprzedzić (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ko 경고하다 (to make someone aware of impending danger) · mn анхааруулах (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ota ایقاظ ایتمك (to make someone aware of impending danger) · se váruhit (to make someone aware of impending danger) · cmn 警告 (to make someone aware of impending danger) · uk попере́дити (to notify someone of something) · zdj uhadharisha (intransitive: to give warning) · uk попере́джувати (to notify someone of something) · mi whakaohiti (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ru предупрежда́ть (to notify someone of something) · cs upozorňovat (to make someone aware of impending danger) · pt avisar (to make someone aware of impending danger) · fi ilmoittaa (to notify someone of something) · bg предупрежда́вам (to make someone aware of impending danger) · bg предупредя́ (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ur خَبَرْدار کَرْنا (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ga fainic a chur ar (to make someone aware of impending danger) · cs varovat (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sk varovať (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ru предостерега́ть (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sh upozorávati (to make someone aware of impending danger) · nb advare (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ar حَذَّرَ (to make someone aware of impending danger) · fi varoittaa (to notify someone of something) · et hoiatama (to make someone aware of impending danger) · km ព្រមាន (to make someone aware of impending danger) · la moneō (to make someone aware of impending danger) · ja 言い聞かせる (to make someone aware of impending danger) · uk попере́дити (to make someone aware of impending danger) · es aldabear (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sh upozòriti (to make someone aware of impending danger) · sw onya (to make someone aware of impending danger) · uk попереджа́ти (to make someone aware of impending danger) · es alertar (to make someone aware of impending danger)