aware, pred. a.
(əˈwɛə(r))
Forms: 1 ᵹewær, 3 iwar, iware, iwarre, a ware, 4 y-wer, ywar, 6 awarre, 5– aware.
[OE. ᵹewær (cogn. with OHG. gawar, giwar, MHG. gewar, mod.G. gewahr), f. ᵹe (see a- prefix 6) + wær wary, cautious: see ware.]
† 1. Watchful, vigilant, cautious, on one's guard. to be aware of: to be on one's guard against. Obs.
| 1095 O.E. Chron., Þa þe innan þam niwan castele wæron, his ᵹewær wurdon. c 1200 Moral Ode 334 Bute we wurðen us iwar, þis wereld us wile drenchen. 1250 Lay. 5520 Beyne wer iwar [1205 warre] of þan swikedome. 1340 Ayenb. 100 Þet þou by wys and y-wer. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apophth. 337 b, To bee well aware, lest thei should..areise battaill. 1636 E. Dacres tr. Machiavel II. 423 They were alwayes aware of taking of townes by long sieges. 1770 Wesley Wks. (1872) XIII. 19 Are you all aware of..talebearing and evil-speaking? 1835 I. Taylor Spir. Despot. iv. 164 We must be especially aware of those fallacies. |
2. Informed, cognizant, conscious, sensible. to be aware (of, that): to have cognizance, to know.
| 1205 Lay. 18422 ær heo wurðen iware, we scullen heom amarre. c 1230 Ancr. R. 104 Þer of beoð iwar..þet oðer hwile þe ueond, etc. c 1280 Commandm. in E.E.P. (1862) 16 Be a ware whose euer wol..þat for man-is sin it is. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. ii. iii. 94 Whan the dwellers there were aware of hit. 1535 Coverdale 1 Chron. xxii. 21 Arnan loked, and was aware of Dauid. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 119 Whereof hee soon aware, Each perturbation smooth'd with outward calme. 1790 Cowper Odyss. xix. 117 Thou wast well aware..that I design'd To ask. 1879 S. C. Bartlett Egypt to Pal. xv. 317 The only Europeans who had preceded us..so far as I am aware, were Straus..and Bonar. Mod. Are you aware that your friends are here? |
† 3. elliptically with be omitted, and simulating a verb in the imperative. (So taken by Johnson.) (Be) on your guard, (be)ware. (Cf. Soft! Quick!)
| c 1530 Hickscorner in Hazl. Dodsl. I. 154 Aware, fellows, and stand a-room. 1575 Laneham Let. (1871) 28 Aware, keep bak, make room noow. c 1590 Marlowe Faust. vii. 81 Well there's the second time. Aware the third. |
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▸ Generally concerned and well informed, esp. with respect to a particular issue or field; sensitive, ‘savvy’. Freq. with modifying adverb indicating the relevant issue or field. Cf. politically aware adj. at politically adv. Compounds 1.
| 1932 Chicago Daily Tribune 4 Dec. viii. 5/1 (heading) Queries that reach Editor's etiquette desk. Socially aware individual is particular about all the details of conduct. 1938 M. Allingham Fashion in Shrouds ix. 138 Her naïve delight in her captive would have been disarming, but this morning..it was not quite forgivable and succeeded in striking a démodé note in that aware community. 1971 Acad. Managem. Jrnl. 14 107 Are not..purchasing agents..and ultimate consumers also members of this same society which we have admitted is ever-more environmentally aware and adamant? 1990 Times (Nexis) 24 Oct. People have become extremely aware and price sensitive. 2007 Vanity Fair June (On Time Suppl.) 43/2 The stellar growth of the Chinese economy is set to be another influence on the vintage-watch market as Far Eastern buyers become more horologically aware. |