Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To be on guard against; be cautious of: "Beware the ides of March” ( Shakespeare).
- v. To be cautious; exert caution: We had to beware of the icy patches on the road. Beware of the dog.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To be wary or cautious; be on one's guard; exercise care or vigilance: properly two words, be ware, consisting of the infinitive or imperative of be with the adjective ware: followed by of, expressed or understood, with the force of ‘against,’ ‘in regard to’: as, beware of evil associations; beware how you step; “beware the bear,”
Wiktionary
- v. defective, transitive, intransitive To use caution, pay attention (to) (if intransitive, construed with of).
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To be on one's guard; to be cautious; to take care; -- commonly followed by
of orlest before the thing that is to be avoided. - v. obsolete To have a special regard; to heed.
- v. obsolete To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
WordNet 3.0
- v. be on one's guard; be cautious or wary about; be alert to
Etymologies
- be- + ware (Wiktionary)
- Middle English ben war : ben, to be; see be + war, on one's guard; see ware2. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“In my opinion, buyer beware is a relevant warning EVERY time I bust out my wallet.”
“When voting time comes around again beware of the Tsunami.”
“Caveat emptor [let the buyer beware] is the only motto going, and the worst proverb that ever came from dishonest stony-hearted Rome.”
“Let the buyer beware" is an old phrase worth remembering.”
“Buyer beware" is the watch word that we should live by.”
In response to Doug Karr: Protecting Software and Customers from Counterfeiters?
““Whenas this door is opened will conquer this country a raid of the Arabs, after the likeness of the figures here depicted; wherefore beware, and again beware of opening it.””
“Shaykh said to him, ‘O Janshah, take the keys of the castle and solace thyself with exploring all its apartments and viewing whatever be therein, but as regards such a room, beware and again beware of opening its door; and if thou gainsay me and open it and enter there, through nevermore shalt thou know fair fortune.’”
“They resort to this place on the first day of every month; and thou must take seat here and watch for them; and when thou seest them coming hide thee near the pavilion sitting where thou mayst see them, without being seen of them, and beware, again beware lest thou show thyself, or we shall all lose our lives.”
“[1] In hunting dialect the warning "'ware" or "beware" is shortened to”
Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 26, August, 1880 of Popular Literature and Science
“So anyone from a foreign country, bearing an ID that's not written in plain English, beware ...”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘beware’.
-
GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
-
RELI - Genesis
Protagonists and relevant words in the Book of Creation (Source: King James Bible)
wrath, leaf, belly, prey, death, break, six, nod, dim, end, inn, judge and 1286 more...
-
eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
-
Belistful
Tubey or not tubey.
belittle, bedazzle, besiege, besmirch, bespeckle, beget, bemoan, befuddle, befriend, become, besot, becloud and 596 more...
-
kingrat47's Words
procrustean, devolution, cacophony, hippopotamus, crunch, beware, chortled, sibilant, subtle, undermine, acromegaly, acropolis and 645 more...
-
ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
-
Defective
beware, can, may, methinks, must, ought, shall, quoth, will, wis, wit
-
Poetrie: Beginner's Lessons
by Malcolm Alexander
If you wish to be wealthy, duck beneath
the topcoat of a well-dressed river
until you come up with a mossy boot
filled with shiners. Spend them w...easy, laugh out loud, bend it, poem, meteor, lacewing, beware, listen, aria, orchid, voicebox, trace and 45 more...
-
bienetvous's Words
snug, beware, sizzle, carbonspace, woo, chiaroscuro, niveous, rhapsody, sempiternal, ripple, vestige, figment and 55 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for beware.
vanishedone Just keep aware of it. Jan 4, 2009
hernesheir Is beware some sort of computer program I should avoid too? Jan 4, 2009