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.
A red flag warning, indicating potentially hazardous fire weather, will remain in place through Saturday evening for many parts of Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Federal authorities say they are investigating "potentially hazardous" letters containing "suspicious substances" that have been sent to congressional and state election offices around the US.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Such agents help reactions proceed by accepting or donating electrons, but some can be hazardous to handle and generate unwanted waste.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
The National Hurricane Center said the worst of Rachel was over but "hazardous coastal conditions" could persist for days, with the highest waves coinciding with high tides, causing life-threatening surf and rip currents.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
If a mission seemed especially hazardous, or if it involved a place they knew to be bad, they carried everything they could.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
