beware

C2+ Topic:Safety & Risk

US /bɪˈwɛr/ UK /bɪˈwɛə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to be cautious or on guard against a danger

Beware of icy patches on the steep descent.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to be cautious or on guard... watch mind heed look outtake care

Opposites

ignore disregard

Word family

Related forms wary aware ware

Etymology

From Middle English be war ('be wary'), from be (imperative of be) + war/ware ('cautious'), from Old English wær ('aware, cautious').

wær Old English *waraz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Safety & Risk

External links

# beware

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /bɪˈwɛr/
**IPA (UK):** /bɪˈwɛə/

## Meanings
1. to be cautious or on guard against a danger

## Examples
- Beware of icy patches on the steep descent.

## Synonyms
- watch
- mind
- heed
- look out
- take care

## Antonyms
- ignore
- disregard

## Related Forms
- wary
- aware
- ware

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: wær
- Root: *waraz

## Etymology
From Middle English be war ('be wary'), from be (imperative of be) + war/ware ('cautious'), from Old English wær ('aware, cautious').

## AI Etymology
Beware comes from Middle English be war ('be wary'), from be (imperative of be) + war/ware ('cautious'), from Old English wær ('aware, cautious'). The historical trail runs through wær in Old English and *waraz in Proto-Germanic. Morphologically, beware is transparent: it draws on Middle English be war ('be wary'), from be (imperative of be) + war/ware ('cautious'), from Old English wær ('aware, cautious'). Used as a verb, beware now means "be cautious or on guard against a danger", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as wary, aware, and ware. The modern word remains analyzable through its parts, which makes the semantic connection unusually direct.

## Topics
- Safety & Risk

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