alarmism

American  

[uh-lahrm-iz-uhm] / əˈlɑrmˌɪz əm /

noun

1. the tendency to raise alarms without sufficient reason or cause, such as by exaggerating danger or the likelihood of disaster.

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Other Word Forms

• alarmist noun

Example Sentences

The world-weary consumer of news might reasonably wonder if we’re headed into another version of climate alarmism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

In his majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch—himself a gun rights enthusiast—dispatched with Oldham’s logic in a single paragraph, explaining that the judge’s approach favored hyperbolic alarmism over a statute’s actual “text and context.”

From Slate • Jul. 10, 2025

Despite its note of alarmism, the Economist article mentioned above asks that question in entirely reasonable terms.

From Salon • Jun. 29, 2025

Far from muting his new-found alarmism, he explained it.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2024

Let us beware, however, of exaggeration or alarmism.

From The Quarterly Review, Volume 162, No. 324, April, 1886 by Various