Warn vs Caution - What's the difference?
warn | caution |
To make (someone) aware of impending danger etc.
To caution (someone) against unwise or unacceptable behaviour.
To notify (someone) of something untoward.
To give warning.
* 1526 , William Tyndale, tr. Bible , Galatians II, 9-10:
* 1973 , Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow , Penguin 1995, p. 177:
* 1988 , Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses , Picador 2000, p. 496:
* 1991 , Clive James, ‘Making Programmes the World Wants’, The Dreaming Swimmer , Jonathan Cape 1992:
(label) To refuse, deny (someone something).
*:
*:And yf thou warne' her loue she shalle goo dye anone yf thou haue no pyte on her / that sygnefyeth the grete byrd / the whiche shalle make the to ' warne her
Precept or warning against evil or danger of any kind; exhortation to wariness; advice; injunction.
* Shakespeare
A careful attention to the probable effects of an act, in order that failure or harm may be avoided; prudence in regard to danger; provident care; wariness.
Security; guaranty; bail.
* Clarendon
One who gives rise to attention or astonishment.
A formal warning given as an alternative to prosecution in minor cases.
In transitive terms the difference between warn and caution
is that warn is to notify (someone) of something untoward while caution is to warn; to alert, advise that caution is warranted.As a noun caution is
precept or warning against evil or danger of any kind; exhortation to wariness; advice; injunction.warn
English
Etymology 1
(etyl) warnian, from (etyl) . Cognate with German warnen, Dutch waarnen.Verb
(en verb)- We waved a flag to warn the oncoming traffic.
- He was warned against crossing the railway tracks at night.
- Don't let me catch you running in the corridor again, I warn you.
- I phoned to warn him of the rail strike.
- 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.
- 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 [...].
- 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 [...]’.
- 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 .
Usage notes
* The intransitive sense is considered colloquial by some, and is explicitly proscribed by, for example, the Daily Telegraph style guide (which prefers give warning).Derived terms
* warner * warning * warn offEtymology 2
From a combination of (etyl) wiernan (from (etyl) ; compare Swedish varna).Verb
(en verb)Anagrams
* English reporting verbscaution
English
Noun
(en noun)- In way of caution I must tell you.
- The Parliament would yet give his majesty sufficient caution that the war should be prosecuted.
- Oh, that boy, he's a caution ! He does make me laugh.