English

Verb

forewarn ‎(third-person singular simple present forewarns, present participle forewarning, simple past and past participle forewarned)

1. To warn in advance.
   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:

     “I came down like a wolf on the fold, didn’t I ?  Why didn’t I telephone ?  Strategy, my dear boy, strategy. This is a surprise attack, and I’d no wish that the garrison, forewarned, should escape. …”

Usage notes

Some discourage this use, finding the term redundant, as a warning is necessarily in advance. However, considering the word's continued presence in the English language ever since the time of the Anglo-Saxons (when it was first coined), the legitimacy of such complaints is somewhat questionable.^[1]

Additionally, many others argue that forewarn is simple emphasis (rather than redundancy), has connotations of “well in advance” (“Watch out!” and “Watch your head!” are warnings, but not forewarnings), and has connotations of “correct prediction”, as in foretell. Both forewarn and warn are well-established words, with forewarn being attested since 1330.

Related terms

• fore-
• foretell

Derived terms

• forewarned is forearmed

Translations

References

1. ↑ The dictionary of disagreeable English, Robert Hartwell Fiske, 2006, p. 160

• “Forewarning signs”, The Grammarphobia Blog, May 8, 2007