alarmist.

1. A person judged to overstate danger or raise unnecessary fear.

2. As an adjective, describing a claim or attitude judged to exaggerate danger.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• dismiss someone as an alarmist
• label a forecaster an alarmist
• an alarmist's predictions

On the page

They called her an alarmist until the retaining wall failed.

He feared sounding like an alarmist, so he left the most troubling detail out.

The committee disagreed about whether the consultant was an alarmist or simply well informed.

Usage notes

Primary category: fear. A disputed evaluative label; an alarmist may sincerely believe the forecast. Scaremonger emphasizes spreading alarming stories, whereas alarmist emphasizes excessive alarm. Count noun. Count plural: alarmists. Derived family (not additional inflections or records): alarmism.