Warn vs Threat - What's the difference?
warn | threat |
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
An expression of intent to injure or punish another.
* (William Shakespeare)
An indication of imminent danger.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=
, title= A person or object that is regarded as a danger; a menace.
* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 2, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC
, title= (label) To press; urge; compel.
(archaic) To threaten.
* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , I.vii:
* 1599 , , V. i. 37:
(label) To use threats; act or speak menacingly; threaten.
In transitive terms the difference between threat and warn
is that threat is to press; urge; compel while warn is to notify (someone) of something untoward.In intransitive terms the difference between threat and warn
is that threat is to use threats; act or speak menacingly; threaten while warn is to give warning.As a noun threat
is an expression of intent to injure or punish another.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 verbsthreat
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) (m), (m), (m), .Noun
(en noun)- There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats .
Katrina G. Claw
Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm, volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction.}}
Bulgaria 0-3 England, passage=Rooney's United team-mate Chris Smalling was given his debut at right-back and was able to adjust to the international stage in relatively relaxed fashion as Bulgaria barely posed a threat of any consequence.}}
Etymology 2
From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) .Verb
(en verb)- An hideous Geant horrible and hye, / That with his talnesse seemd to threat the skye
- O yes, and soundless too; / For you have stolen their buzzing, Antony, / And very wisely threat before you sting.