Usage notes

Some discourage this use, finding the term redundant, as a warning is necessarily in advance. However, considering the word's continued presence in the English language ever since the time of the Anglo-Saxons (when it was first coined), the legitimacy of such complaints is somewhat questionable.The dictionary of disagreeable English, Robert Hartwell Fiske, 2006, p. 160 Additionally, many others argue that forewarn' is simple emphasis (rather than redundancy), has connotations of “well in advance” (“Watch out!” and “Watch your head!” are warnings, but not forewarnings), and has connotations of “''correct'' prediction”, as in foretell. Both '''forewarn''' and (term) are well-established words, with ' forewarn being attested since 1330.