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Glite Dictionary
to content warn

to content warn

7.3
Give a notice before sharing something that may upset people
  • phrasal verb
  • Texting
translation icon : advertir sobre contenido
  • The author chose to content warn her readers about themes of violence in the novel.

Examples

  • Before sharing the video, she decided to content warn viewers about the graphic scenes.

  • He always remembers to content warn his friends when discussing sensitive topics online.

  • I just wanted to give some content warnings and context for this episode.

Synonyms

to warn
vsto content warn
∞ 1.0

Tell someone about possible danger so they can be careful

is a notice before media that may upset viewers not a general danger alert

How Strongly

to alert
255 2.3
to warn
∞ 1.0
to content warn
  • Texting
7.3
to flag
20 3.7
to note
951 1.6

Surface Forms

content warn infinitive
content warned past
content warned past participle
content warning present participle
content warns third person singular

Morphology

content + warn

The meaning 'to give a notice about sensitive material' is directly and compositionally derived from 'content' (the material/information) plus 'warn' (advise of a potential problem). This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common combination (warn about content) and a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the intended meaning, despite the phrase being more common in online register.

Etymology

Content warn comes from people online who put a short note before content to warn others that it may be 'sensitive' or 'upsetting'. So, to 'content warn' someone means to give a quick notice so they can choose whether to see the material.