Meanings
alternative forewarned, forearmed
- Advance awareness of a situation, especially a risky one, prepares one to deal with it.
Sometimes, they say, it is wiser to remain in ignorance; at other times forewarned is forearmed.
1885, G. A. Henty, chapter 4, in Saint George for England2 more examples
[W]hatever a young gentleman of that age says to you, he says to many other ladies; but your experience is not equal to your sense; so profit by mine . . . forewarned is forearmed.
1863, Charles Reade, chapter 4, in Hard Cash"Well, Miss Maxwell, I think it only fair to tell you that you may have trouble with those boys when they do come. Forewarned is forearmed, you know."
c. 1903, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Why Mr. Cropper Changed His Mind
Origin
Possibly, although not certainly, from the Latin saying praemonitus praemunitus.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan home previngut val per dos
- home previngut val per dosproverb
Chinese Mandarin 凡事預則立 /凡事预则立
- 凡事預則立 /凡事预则立 (fánshì yù zé lì)proverb
Dutch een gewaarschuwd mens telt voor twee
- een gewaarschuwd mens telt voor tweeproverb
Finnish ei vara venettä kaada
- ei vara venettä kaadaproverb
French un homme averti en vaut deux
- un homme averti en vaut deuxproverb
German gewarnt ist gewappnet, Gefahr erkannt, Gefahr gebannt
- gewarnt ist gewappnetproverb
- Gefahr erkannt, Gefahr gebanntproverb
Italian uomo avvisato, mezzo salvato
- uomo avvisato, mezzo salvatoproverb
Latin praemonitus praemunitus
- praemonitus praemunitusproverb
Polish przezorny zawsze ubezpieczony
- przezorny zawsze ubezpieczonyproverb
Portuguese um homem prevenido vale por dois
- um homem prevenido vale por doisproverb
Romanian un om prevenit face cât doi
- un om prevenit face cât doiproverb
Russian кто предостережён, тот вооружён
- кто предостережён, тот вооружён (kto predosterežón, tot vooružón)proverb
Spanish hombre prevenido vale por dos
- hombre prevenido vale por dosproverb
Cite this entry
forewarned is forearmed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forewarned%20is%20forearmed
“forewarned is forearmed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forewarned%20is%20forearmed. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forewarned is forearmed,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forewarned%20is%20forearmed.
Source: forewarned is forearmed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.