precariously
Americanadverb
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in an unstable, uncertain, or insecure way.
The two archrivals sit precariously balanced at the top of the league, either one likely to fall in the standings at any time.
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in a way that is dependent on the will of others.
They live precariously, subject to arrest by immigration authorities, and with taxes withheld from paychecks that they cannot reclaim.
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in a way that is risky or dangerous; perilously.
He steadies the canoe as his son stands precariously in the bow, aiming his spear toward the river.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of precariously
Explanation
If something is happening or positioned precariously, it's in danger. A glass could be precariously balanced on the edge of a table. If something is on the verge of danger, then the word precariously fits. You're living precariously if you jump up and down on a lake that's not totally frozen. In your late teens, you're precariously close to the brink of adulthood. When you have one college class left, you're precariously close to having to find a job. Some people like living precariously: they enjoy danger. Other people just get stressed out and prefer to live carefully.
Vocabulary lists containing precariously
"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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A Raisin in the Sun
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The Lightning Thief
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Precariously situated on a rock outcropping some 2,600 feet above the Paro Valley, Tiger’s Nest is built around a cave where the Indian guru Rinpoche meditated in the eighth century.
From Time • Sep. 25, 2017
Precariously clinging to the neck of the dragon he has created, little Adolf Hitler saw the world more unified against Germany than at any time since 1918, and preparing to do something about it.
From Time Magazine Archive
Precariously perched between the towering Andes and the Pacific, the elongated Republic of Chile runs like a rind along the western coast of South America from the tropics to Cape Horn.
From Time Magazine Archive
Precariously situated between the borders of Iraq, Israel and Saudi Arabia, the kingdom of 3.5 million, Jordanians fear, would be obliterated in the cross fire.
From Time Magazine Archive
Precariously perched gardens bloomed with olive trees and rosebushes.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
