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wake-up call
noun [C] /ˈweɪk.ʌpˌkɔːl/Definition
› If something that happens is a wake-up call, it should make you realize that you need to take action to change a situation: The poor turnout for the election will hopefully be a wake-up call to the government.Threats and warnings › a phone call that you arrange to be made, for example in a hotel, to wake you up at a certain timeCommunicating by telephone
(Definition of wake-up call noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
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SMART Thesaurus: Threats & warnings
Synonyms and related words:
- (just) you wait idiom
- beware verb
- burglar alarm noun
- cautionary adjective
- do you want to make something/anything of it? idiom
- fire a (warning) shot across sb's bow idiom
- heads-up noun
- hear warning bells idiom
- I told you so! idiom
- notice noun (WARNING)
- one swallow doesn't make a summer idiom
- ring/sound alarm bells idiom
- siren noun (DEVICE)
- slap noun (HIT)
- sound verb (NOISE)
- there's many a slip twixt cup and lip idiom
- tip sb off phrasal verb
- tip-off noun
- warning noun
- woe betide sb idiom
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
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