warn

verb

ˈwȯrn 

warned; warning; warns

transitive verb

1

a

: to give notice to beforehand especially of danger or evil

b

: to give admonishing advice to : counsel

c

: to call to one's attention : inform

2

: to order to go or stay away

—often used with off

intransitive verb

: to give a warning

warner noun

Synonyms

• advise
• alert
• caution
• forewarn
• wake

Examples of warn in a Sentence

I had been warned about the difficulties of the job.

She warned me that the stove was still hot.

“This won't be easy,” he warned.

Nobody warned me about the dangers.

I warned him to be careful, but he didn't listen to me.

She warned us not to go too close to the fire.

Recent Examples on the Web

There was no evacuation warning ahead of the air raid. —Reuters, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024

There was also the larger error of anointing Harris without political competition — an insult to the democratic process that handed the nomination to a candidate who, as some of us warned at the time, was exceptionally weak. —Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024

Around 9:15, someone turned up the volume and Rachel Maddow’s voice rose above the chatter, warning that results would be coming in all night. —Curbed Staff, Curbed, 6 Nov. 2024

Some battleground states took multiple days in 2020 to determine a clear winner in the presidential race then, and elections analysts are warning the same could be the case this year as well. —Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Orange County Register, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English warnen, going back to Old English wearnian, warnian "to be on one's guard, make aware, put on one's guard," going back to West Germanic *warnōjan- (whence Middle Dutch waernen "to provide with, give notice of a danger," Old High German warnōn), probably causative derivative of Germanic *wara- "cognizant, watchful" — more at ware entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing warn

• I have to warn you
• pre-warn
• warn off

Kids Definition

warn

verb

ˈwȯ(ə)rn 

1

a

: to give notice to beforehand especially of danger or evil

b

: to give advice to : counsel

2

: to order to go or stay away

warned us off their land

warner noun