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- pronunciation:
luhrt
- parts of speech:
- adjective, noun, verb
- features:
- Word History, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
adjective |
| definition: |
When you are awake and watching everything around you carefully, you are alert. When you are alert, you can act quickly if you need to.
The alert driver saw the child in the road and quickly stopped the car.
- synonyms:
- sharp
- similar words:
- aware, quick, swift
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| related words: |
careful, conscious, prompt, smart |
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| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition: |
An alert is a warning of possible danger.
When we heard the tornado alert, we went to the basement.- synonyms:
- alarm, signal, warning
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| related words: |
alarm, caution |
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| part of speech: |
verb |
| inflections: |
alerts, alerting, alerted |
| definition: |
When you alert someone, you tell them about something they should know about. We usually alert people about something that might be dangerous or to make sure they know about something important to them.
The police alerted drivers that the town bridge was closed because it was not safe to drive on.- synonyms:
- warm
- similar words:
- inform, tell, warn
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| related words: |
caution |
| derivations: |
alertly (adv.), alertness (n.) |
The English word alert comes from a l'erte, an early French phrase that means "on guard" or "on the watch." This French phrase came from an Italian military phrase, all'erta. Erta means "a high or raised place," such as a hilltop or tower soldiers might use to see the enemy coming from a distance. All'erta meant "standing on the high tower."
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