dicey

American  

[dahy-see] / ˈdaɪ si /

adjective

Informal.

• dicier,
  comparative
• diciest
  superlative

1. unpredictable; risky; uncertain.

---

dicey British  

/ ˈdaɪsɪ /

adjective

1. difficult or dangerous; risky; tricky

---

Other Word Forms

Adjective Inflected Forms

• dicier
  comparative
• diciest
  superlative

---

Etymology

Origin of dicey

First recorded in 1935–40; dice + -ey ¹

---

Explanation

Something that's dicey is unpredictable — and it may even be risky or downright dangerous. Bringing up controversial subjects like politics at Thanksgiving dinner with your relatives can be dicey. If you fix your motorcycle yourself, you may feel like it's a pretty dicey vehicle for riding on the highway, and when you're not at all sure how you did on your biology final, you might say, "Phew, that was dicey." Dicey is an informal word that comes from the idea of the unknown outcome of "a roll of the dice," from aviator's jargon around 1940.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dicey dicier diciest

My plans for sunset in an Adirondack chair at Lake Crescent Lodge were looking dicey.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Given that he admits he has "no experience" in robotics, I question why he would want to invest in such a dicey business.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

It’s difficult to get one’s hopes up when it comes to the dicey state of Hollywood filmmaking, and even more difficult to keep them there.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

Slate’s Ian Prasad Philbrick wrote a fine piece about how this latest fad is dicey on both policy and political grounds.

From Slate ● May 2, 2026

They fill their mind and hands with soap and repair and dicey confrontations because what is waiting for them, in a suddenly idle moment, is the seep of rage.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison

What may have started out as a good idea became too good as deals got dicier.

From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026

But Mitchell did step in during some of Wuthering Heights' dicier scenes to make sure the star was safe.

From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026

A December rate cut “is a little dicier than markets have it right now. You’re hanging a lot on the slowdown in nonfarm payrolls,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025

You don’t really want to hit a guardrail with a vehicle like that, but electrification can make things even dicier.

From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2024

Surely if plagiarism can ever be said “digito monstrari et dicier hic est,” it is here.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 55, No. 344, June, 1844 by Various

Nor will Sir Keir’s diciest moments politically over the coming months necessarily all be a result of big tax and spend decisions he makes.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2024

But the diciest bit may have been an extended riff about Down Syndrome, beginning with Gillis saying that he is sometimes mistaken for having it based on his appearance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2024

This isn’t any kind of journalism, not even the diciest variety of supermarket tabloidism.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 8, 2019

But Clement’s diciest moment came when Justice Elena Kagan faced him down.

From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2013

Perhaps the diciest situation is in Dallas, where prevailing opinion is the Cowboys have tons of ability on the field, very little of it away from the field.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 5, 2012

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• ticklish
• tricky
• uncertain
• unpredictable

---