alarming

1 of 2

adjective

alarm·​ing ə-ˈlär-miŋ How to pronounce alarming (audio)
Synonyms of alarmingnext
: causing people to feel danger or alarm or to be worried or frightened
alarming news
The statistics revealed an alarming increase in childhood obesity.
alarmingly
ə-ˈlär-miŋ-lē
adverb
an alarmingly high rate of infection

alarming

2 of 2

present participle of alarm entry 2

Synonyms of alarming

Relevance

Adjective

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of alarming in a Sentence

Adjective an alarming rise in her fever, causing the doctor to fear the worst
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Adjective
The Houthis in Yemen, whom the kingdom has been battling on and off since 2009, have demonstrated an alarming ability to strike deep inside Saudi Arabia, from airports to the Aramco head office, with no regard for civilian lives. — Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 23 Oct. 2026 This is especially alarming as 1 in 8 women in America will develop breast cancer. — Lyndon Haviland, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026 This week alone has seen a string of alarming incidents where AI uncovered previously unknown security flaws deep in the infrastructure of the internet. — Cameron Peters, Vox, 23 Oct. 2026 The People’s Bank of China isn’t necessarily buying at an alarming rate—nor are other emerging markets—points out Goldman. — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for alarming

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from present participle of alarm entry 2

First Known Use

Adjective

1658, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of alarming was in 1658

Rhymes for alarming

See All Rhymes for alarming

Browse Nearby Words

alarmer
alarming
alarmingly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Alarming.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alarming. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All