dangerous

[deyn-jer-uh s, deynj-ruh s]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dangerous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

full of danger or risk; causing danger; perilous; risky; hazardous; unsafe.

able or likely to cause physical injury: a dangerous criminal.

Nearby words

Origin of dangerous

1175–1225; Middle English da(u)ngerous domineering, fraught with danger < Old French dangereus threatening, difficult, equivalent to dangier (see danger) + -eus -ous

Related forms

dan·ger·ous·ly, adverbdan·ger·ous·ness, nounnon·dan·ger·ous, adjectivenon·dan·ger·ous·ly, adverb

non·dan·ger·ous·ness, nounqua·si-dan·ger·ous, adjectivequa·si-dan·ger·ous·ly, adverbsem·i·dan·ger·ous, adjectivesem·i·dan·ger·ous·ly, adverbsem·i·dan·ger·ous·ness, nounun·dan·ger·ous, adjectiveun·dan·ger·ous·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dangerous

An additonal 30,000 made it to Europe by other routes including commercial flights and dangerous overland passages.
Ghost Ships of the Mediterranean|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The most dangerous attacks are those that undermine your perceived strength.
Will Chris Christie Regret His Cowboy Hug?|Matt Lewis|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There were also crashes not due to either mechanical or human error but to a lack of warning of dangerous conditions.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The Wolf of Wall Street is a dangerous, incendiary work of art.
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange|Marlow Stern|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“I know that being a cop is dangerous but I must do it,” a friend remembered him saying, as reported in The New York Times.
In The Shadow of Murdered Cops|Michael Daly|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now all these dangerous weapons went over into a poor man's garden, where his son and some other boys were weeding it.
Forgotten Tales of Long Ago|E. V. Lucas
And there are justifiable strandings in fogs, on uncharted seas, on dangerous shores, through treacherous tides.
The Mirror of the Sea|Joseph Conrad
They could not believe that trails were between them and their dangerous enemy!
The Bush Boys|Captain Mayne Reid
The young lieutenant well knew the dangerous position in which the ship, now under his command, was placed.
Won from the Waves|W.H.G. Kingston
I don't know that I'd say that, sir, but it's dangerous enough.
Dave Darrin After The Mine Layers|H. Irving Hancock

British Dictionary definitions for dangerous

dangerous

adjective

causing danger; perilous

Derived Formsdangerously, adverbdangerousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dangerous

dangerous

adj.

early 13c., "difficult, arrogant, severe" (the opposite of affable), from Anglo-French dangerous, Old French dangeros (12c., Modern French dangereux), from danger (see danger).

In Chaucer, it means "hard to please, reluctant to give;" sense of "full of danger, risky" is from late 15c. Other words used in this sense included dangersome (1560s), dangerful (1540s). Related: Dangerously.

Idioms and Phrases with dangerous

dangerous

see little knowledge is a dangerous thing; live dangerously.

dangerous

adjective

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Origin of dangerous

Examples from the Web for dangerous

dangerous

adjective

dangerous

dangerous