perilous

[ per-uh-luhs ]

adjective

1. involving or full of grave risk or peril; hazardous; dangerous:

   a perilous voyage across the Atlantic in a small boat.

   Synonyms: risky

   Antonyms: safe

perilous

/ ˈpɛrɪləs /

adjective

1. very hazardous or dangerous

   a perilous journey

Derived Forms

• ˈperilousness, noun
• ˈperilously, adverb

Other Words From

• per·il·ous·ly adverb
• per·il·ous·ness noun
• non·per·il·ous adjective
• un·per·il·ous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of perilous¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French perillous, from Latin perīculōsus; peril, -ous

Example Sentences

We see this freedom isn’t free at all—it comes, sometimes, at perilous cost.

From Time

Because many of these tech companies do not have unions, most of the workers who lead or participated in the protests were not labor activists, but workers responding to the perilous situation in which they found themselves.

From Time

Here are some made-up game modes that make ghost hunting both more perilous and more ridiculous.

From Washington Post

Both men have a good sense for understanding their players and maintaining optimism through perilous times.

From Washington Post

The Justice Department is suing Google — but it’s the government’s power to police Big Tech that’s on trialThe Google lawsuit comes at a perilous time for Paxton, in particular.

From Washington Post

Satirists occupy a perilous position—to skewer dogma and cant, and to antagonize the establishment while needing its protection.

From The Daily Beast

It is a tricky and perilous path, but there are no realistic alternatives.

From The Daily Beast

But if Mare Nostrum ends, it could be a tragic day for migrants making the perilous crossing.

From The Daily Beast

Unfortunately, this can result in sending a well-intentioned but perilous message.

From The Daily Beast

And now Persecuted holds up a mirror to the perilous situation facing increasingly disenfranchised Christians in modern America.

From The Daily Beast

The road had been built for bringing down lumber, and for six miles it was at perilous angles.

From Project Gutenberg

This rather is, I should deem, the more perilous, and a plainer and better object for philosophical attack.

From Project Gutenberg

On their perilous journey an attack of measles increased their discomforts.

From Project Gutenberg

Moreover, when we come to pay off, the crew will receive a bonus, in consideration of the long and perilous voyage.

From Project Gutenberg

He had access to the ocean only in a latitude in which navigation is, during a great part of every year, perilous and difficult.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• delicate
• dicey
• hazardous
• precarious
• risky
• rugged
• shaky
• threatening
• ticklish
• touchy
• treacherous
• uncertain
• unstable