adjective
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involving great risk
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depending on chance
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hazardous
Explanation
The noun "hazard" means something dangerous, and the adjective hazardous refers to anything that involves danger. A golf course with lots of sand traps is especially hazardous for golfers. That's why those traps are called hazards. If your car blows a tire in the middle of the night, make sure to turn on your hazard lights. Being invisible to other drivers is hazardous to everyone, especially yourself. Life is, by definition, hazardous. It's full of dangers, both obvious and otherwise. Acknowledge that fact and keep going anyway. If you spend all your time focusing on what's hazardous, you end up missing all the wonderful things in life.
Vocabulary lists containing hazardous
"The Banana Tree," Vocabulary from the short story
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Divergent
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List 7
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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.
We are in a cycle where instant success is expected, and that has made things even more hazardous.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
More than 785 first responders and other emergency personnel, including firefighters, hazardous materials experts, public health officials and environmental scientists, have been mobilized since Friday, Newsom’s office said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2026
The crisis began when the Orange County Fire Authority responded to reports of a hazardous materials incident at GKN Aerospace on Western Avenue in Garden Grove.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026
The set piece is a daring, madcap, Wes Anderson-esque romp through San Francisco all the way to the Metro Designers factory in China, where worker conditions are grim and hazardous.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
“But wait, the terrain looks particularly hazardous, don’t you think?”
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
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.
