peril
Americannoun
-
exposure to injury, loss, or destruction; grave risk; jeopardy; danger.
They faced the peril of falling rocks.
-
something that causes or may cause injury, loss, or destruction.
verb (used with object)
noun
Synonym Usage
See danger.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of peril
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin perīculum “danger, test, trial,” from perī-, verb base meaning “try” (also found in the compound experīrī “to try, test”; see experience) + -culum -cle 2
Explanation
If you realize mid-climb that your rock climbing rope is frayed, you might be in peril. The word peril means imminent danger to life and limb. Peril comes from the Latin peric(u)lum, meaning danger. Today it's often used in tandem with the word mortal, which relates to death. For example, you're in mortal peril when you're flying down a cliff-side trail on your mountain bike and you hit loose gravel. Peril can also describe dangers of a less physical sort, though it's less common. If your employer sinks your 401K into what turns out to be a Ponzi scheme, he's put your retirement in peril.
Vocabulary lists containing peril
"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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ACT Vocabulary List
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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.
See Examples For:
Underestimate the physical demands, external of this non-contact sport at your peril.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
“Legally Blonde” sets up Elle to be underestimated by everybody, including the audience, although the movie drops small hints from the very start that perhaps everyone misjudges her at their peril.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
His exit foreshadows the peril to come at Sunnyside Daycare.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
But the federal sign-off does not end the deal's legal peril.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
I write to you, encompassed by peril and ignorant whether I am ever doomed to see again dear England and the dearer friends that inhabit it.
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
Even so, as he described to me in his office, perils remain, especially for Muslim candidates.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
The perils of leaving a five-star review on a wing and a prayer.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
“ProPublica’s reporting shows the perils of not having this law,” Rubin said.
From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026
But by steering the live-action Prime Video adaptation directly into the anxieties of the zeitgeist, showrunner Eric Kripke has transformed the superhero satire into a terrifying tale about the perils of authoritarianism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
“But the constant lecturing on the perils of dogged bowels—not quite an equitable trade, is it?”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Whether Franklin Roosevelt consciously led the U.S. to war, or hoped to keep the U.S. out by a daring support of its periled friends, will be historians' debating ground for years to come.
From Time Magazine Archive
One night last week an old dog periled the Earl's new job.
From Time Magazine Archive
We all realize that we live in periled times, and our nation must be prepared to defend itself at a moment's notice.
From Time Magazine Archive
I have danced with them, and romped with them in the country, and periled the salvation of my "white tights" by sitting near them at supper.
From Little Masterpieces of American Wit and Humor Volume I by Masson, Thomas L.
It would have periled his safety had she attempted to share his asylum.
From Madame Roland, Makers of History by Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
Justice Department attorneys respond that fears about Snepp's being a loose cannon periling the First Amendment rights of all sorts of people are greatly exaggerated.
From Time Magazine Archive
What!—already faint-hearted!—A miracle of beauty such as Darville described is well worth periling one's neck to gaze upon.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846 by Various
He had refused Kate's prayer; he had driven her to this mad search and the contagion now periling her life, or, if it were spared, leaving her a hideous specter of herself.
From The Iron Game A Tale of the War by Keenan, Henry F. (Henry Francis)
I am that Swedish child he saved from the river Rhine, periling life and limb, losing his sight for me.
From Darkness and Daylight by Holmes, Mary Jane
He reconnoitred every available point, searched every corner of possible danger, and as the time passed he began to rage with impatience against Dick, whose delay was now periling the success of the enterprise.
From The Iron Game A Tale of the War by Keenan, Henry F. (Henry Francis)
But a monarch of the forest flung his head in furious rage, Naught he cared for sovereign sahib, sought some foe now to engage; While the crowd in panic parted, perilled pundits sought a sage.
From Time Magazine Archive
Freedom, patriotism, and humanity demand the union of the freemen of the Republic, for the sake of liberty now perilled.
From Presidential Candidates: containing Sketches, Biographical, Personal and Political, of Prominent Candidates for the Presidency in 1860 by Bartlett, D. W.
So long as I supported the mad troop, I could count upon her, even though it perilled her soul.
From Deep Moat Grange by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)
His feelings toward the devoted and interesting maiden, who had perilled and suffered so much on his account, were enthusiastic in the highest degree.
From The Cavaliers of Virginia or, The Recluse of Jamestown. Vol. II by Caruthers, William A. (Alexander)
He perilled everything, while they staked only their lives and their property.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 16, No. 93, July, 1865 by Various
The editor could dedicate his paper to the service of Janus, the two-faced deity, and thus pursue his business without perilling his reputation for religious consistency.
From Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 10, June 4, 1870 by Various
He had lost caste, he feared, with Pledge, and he was running into the enemy’s country and perilling not only himself, but Dick, in the venture.
From Follow My leader The Boys of Templeton by Stacey, W. S. (Walter S.)
So he spoke solemnly to him, warning him against perilling his future by relapsing into his old courses in Charleston.
From Stories by American Authors, Volume 7 by Various
His mind belittled the cause for which her idolized father was, at that moment, perilling his life, and to which her dearest friends had consecrated themselves.
From An Original Belle by Roe, Edward Payson
Ten of these were serving in the Union army perilling their lives to maintain that national fabric, which their illustrious ancestor had done so much to establish.
From Benjamin Franklin A Picture of the Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago American Pioneers and Patriots Series by Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
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.
