warning

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Admonition

Nouns

1. warning, forewarning, caution, caveat; notice; premonition, foreboding, prediction; lesson; admonition, monition; alarm; advisory; threat.See dissuasion.

2. warning sign, handwriting on the wall; mene, mene, tekel, upharsin; red flag; tip-off; foghorn; monitor, warning voice, wake-up call, Cassandra, signs of the times, Mother Carey's chickens, stormy petrel, bird of ill omen; shot across the bows; gathering clouds, clouds on the horizon; symptom; watchtower, beacon, lighthouse; a cloud no bigger than a man's hand; straw in the wind. See safety, indication.

3. (guard posted to give warning) sentinel, sentry, lookout; watch[man]; patrol, picket, scout, spy, advance guard, rear guard; watchdog, housedog; Cerberus.

Verbs

1. warn, caution; forewarn, prewarn; admonish, premonish, exhort; forebode; give notice or warning; menace; threaten, look black; put on one's guard; sound the alarm; cry wolf; ring the tocsin. Informal, tip off.

2. beware, take warning, take heed; keep watch; stop, look, and listen.

Adjectives — warning, premonitory, monitory, cautionary; admonitory, admonitive; symptomatic; ominous, foreboding; warned, on one's guard, careful, cautious.

Interjections — beware! take care! look out! watch out! cave canem! caveat emptor!

Phrases — a word to the wise [is sufficient]; fear the Greeks bearing gifts; forewarned is forearmed.

Quotations — Beware the ides of March (Shakespeare), Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking (H. L. Mencken).

Antonyms, see rashness.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

Syn. caution, admonition, caveat, notice, advice, alarum, forewarning, portent, omen, alert, intimation, premonition, notification, sign, alarm, indication, token, hint, lesson, information, example, distress signal, prediction, signal, injunction, exhortation, high sign*, word to the wise*, tip-off*, SOS*, handwriting on the wall*.

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

caution, advisory, alert, signal, forewarning, admonition, exhortation, apprisal, notification, threat, *word to the wise, *wake-up call, caveat, portent, sign of things to come, omen.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. Advice to beware, as of a person or thing: admonishment, admonition, caution, caveat, monition. See WARN. 2. An instance that warns or discourages prospective imitators: example, lesson. See WARN. 3. A signal that warns of imminent danger: alarm, alarum, alert, tocsin. See WARN. II adjective Giving warning: admonishing, admonitory, cautionary, monitory. See WARN.