perilously

[per-uh-luhs-lee]

adverb

1. in a way or to a degree that is full of grave risk or peril; dangerously.

   That lighthouse has always been perilously close to the ever-eroding cliffs.

Other Word Forms

• nonperilously adverb
• unperilously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of perilously¹

perilous ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

The frightened horse reared and pawed its massive hooves in the air, perilously close to Penelope’s head.

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“I fail to see how three mere children, no matter how Incorrigible, could do so much damage. Just thinking about it makes me feel perilously close to having a tantrum!”

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The two countries teetered perilously close to war earlier this year after militants in April killed 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, in India-administered Kashmir.

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When it gets a big snow, as it did earlier this month, the trail becomes buried and the whole slope becomes perilously steep.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Batting was perilously difficult when he came in.

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Related Words

• alarmingly www.thesaurus.com
• critically 
• desperately 
• precariously 
• recklessly 
• seriously 
• severely