Synonyms

perilously

American

[per-uh-luhs-lee] / ˈpɛr ə ləs li /

adverb

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

Etymology

Origin of perilously

perilous ( def. ) + -ly

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.

Hitchens added: “A culture that does not possess this common store of image and allegory will be a perilously thin one.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 2026

See: America’s crude inventories are getting perilously low.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 12, 2026

First, their majorities in the House and Senate are perilously slender.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

Beatlemania had dinged his appeal so perilously that editor Jonathan Redmond splices its arrival with images of car crashes and missile attacks.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

This time his voice falters on the question, which has come perilously close to asking whether there’s something I want to talk about, which of course, neither of us has ever asked before.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023