aware
/əˈwɛə/adjective, verb
aware is spelled A-W-A-R-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 60 times per million words in written English, the 1,724th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, aware means “Vigilant or on one's guard against danger or difficulty” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in aware?
| Letters | 5: A-W-A-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 60 times per million words; the 1,724th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is aware?
Aware appears 60 times per million words in written English, the 1,724th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce aware?
- UK /əˈwɛə/
- UK [əˈwɛə̯] ~ [əˈwɛː]
- British /əˈwɛː/
Aware has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-aware.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with aware?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as aware from its last stressed vowel (/ɛə/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of aware
- more aware comparative
- awarer comparative
- most aware superlative
- awarest superlative
- awares present, singular, he/she/it
- awaring participle, present
- awared participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does aware mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Vigilant or on one's guard against danger or difficulty.
Stay aware! Don't let your guard down.
- 2
Conscious or having knowledge of something; awake.
Are you aware of what is being said about you?
verb
- 1
nonstandardTo make (someone) aware of something.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Aware in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | attentif, vigilant, en éveil, en alerte, sur ses gardes , conscient |
| German | wachsam, gewahr , bewusst |
| Portuguese | alerta , consciente, ciente |
| Spanish | alerta , consciente, cognoscente, cognoscitivo, concienciado, concientizado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does aware come from?
Inherited from Middle English aware, iwar, iware, ywar, from Old English ġewær (“aware”), from Proto-West Germanic *gawar, from Proto-Germanic *waraz (“aware, cautious”), from Proto-Indo-European *worós (“attentive”), from *wer- (“to heed; watch out”). Cognate with Dutch gewaar, German gewahr, Danish var, Swedish var, Icelandic varr.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).