What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Warn vs Worry - What's the difference?

warn | worry |

In lang=en terms the difference between warn and worry

is that warn is to give warning while worry is to cause concern or anxiety.

As verbs the difference between warn and worry

is that warn is to make (someone) aware of impending danger etc or warn can be (label) to refuse, deny (someone something) while worry is to seize or shake by the throat, especially of a dog or wolf.

As a noun worry is

a strong feeling of anxiety.

warn

English

Etymology 1

(etyl) warnian, from (etyl) . Cognate with German warnen, Dutch waarnen.

Verb

(en verb)
  • To make (someone) aware of impending danger etc.
  • We waved a flag to warn the oncoming traffic.
  • To caution (someone) against unwise or unacceptable behaviour.
  • He was warned against crossing the railway tracks at night.
    Don't let me catch you running in the corridor again, I warn you.
  • To notify (someone) of something untoward.
  • I phoned to warn him of the rail strike.
  • To give warning.
  • * 1526 , William Tyndale, tr. Bible , Galatians II, 9-10:
  • 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.
  • * 1973 , Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow , Penguin 1995, p. 177:
  • 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 [...].
  • * 1988 , Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses , Picador 2000, p. 496:
  • 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 [...]’.
  • * 1991 , Clive James, ‘Making Programmes the World Wants’, The Dreaming Swimmer , Jonathan Cape 1992:
  • 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 off

    Etymology 2

    From a combination of (etyl) wiernan (from (etyl) ; compare Swedish varna).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (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
  • worry

    English

    Verb

    (en-verb)
  • To seize or shake by the throat, especially of a dog or wolf.
  • Your dog’s been worrying sheep again.
  • To harass; to irritate or distress.
  • The President was worried into military action by persistent advisors.
  • Disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress.
  • Your tone of voice worries me.
  • To be troubled, to give way to mental anxiety.
  • Stop worrying about your test, it’ll be fine.
  • (transitive, obsolete, except in Scots) To strangle.
  • To cause concern or anxiety.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Can China clean up fast enough? , passage=That worries the government, which fears that environmental activism could become the foundation for more general political opposition.}}

    Synonyms

    * (trouble mentally) fret

    Noun

    (worries)
  • A strong feeling of anxiety.
  • :
  • An instance or cause of such a feeling.
  • :
  • Derived terms

    * worried * worrisome