alarm vs rattle

alarm

verb
  • To surprise with apprehension of danger; to fill with anxiety in regard to threatening evil; to excite with sudden fear. 

  • To give (someone) notice of approaching danger 

  • To rouse to vigilance and action; to put on the alert. 

  • To call to arms for defense 

  • To keep in excitement; to disturb. 

noun
  • An instance of an alarm ringing, beeping or clanging, to give a noise signal at a certain time. 

  • A mechanical device for awaking people, or rousing their attention. 

  • A sudden attack; disturbance. 

  • Any sound or information intended to give notice of approaching danger; a warning sound to arouse attention; a warning of danger. 

  • A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy. 

  • Sudden surprise with fear or terror excited by apprehension of danger; in the military use, commonly, sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise. 

rattle

verb
  • To scare, startle, unsettle, or unnerve. 

  • To make a clatter with one's voice; to talk rapidly and idly; often with on or away. 

  • To create a rattling sound by shaking or striking. 

  • To drive or ride briskly, so as to make a clattering. 

  • To make a rattling noise; to make noise by or from shaking. 

noun
  • The set of rings at the end of a rattlesnake's tail which produce a rattling sound. 

  • A rough noise produced in the throat by air passing through obstructed airways; croup; a death rattle. 

  • A rapid succession of percussive sounds, as made by loose objects shaking or vibrating against one another. 

  • A musical instrument that makes a rattling sound. 

  • A noisy, senseless talker; a jabberer. 

  • A baby’s toy designed to make sound when shaken, usually containing loose grains or pellets in a hollow container. 

  • Any of various plants of the genera Rhinanthus and Pedicularis, whose seeds produce a rattling noise in the wind. 

How often have the words alarm and rattle occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )