About The Word Precarious

Bay Area Crosswords

Learn about the word Precarious to help solve your crossword puzzle. Discover Precarious definitions and meaning, origins, synonyms, related terms and more at the free Crossword Dictionary.

Precarious

Precarious Meaning & Definition
Precarious Definition And Meaning

What's The Definition Of Precarious?

[adj] affording no ease or reassurance; "a precarious truce"
[adj] fraught with danger; "dangerous waters"; "a parlous journey on stormy seas"; "a perilous voyage across the Atlantic in a small boat"; "the precarious life of an undersea diver"; "dangerous surgery followed by a touch-and-go recovery"
[adj] not secure; beset with difficulties; "a shaky marriage"
[adj] dangerously insecure; "a precarious footing on the ladder"

Synonyms | Synonyms for Precarious: dangerous | insecure | parlous | perilous | shaky | touch-and-go | uneasy | unsafe | unstable

Related Terms | Find terms related to Precarious: ambiguous | borderline | chancy | critical | dangerous | delicate | desultory | dicey | difficult | doubtful | dubious | equivocal | hairy | hazardous | iffy | indecisive | infirm | insecure | insubstantial | on slippery ground | on thin ice | open | perilous | problematic | provisional | questionable | risky | sensitive | shaky | shifting | shifty | slippery | slippy | temporary | tentative | ticklish | touch-and-go | touchy | treacherous | tricky | uncertain | undependable | unfaithworthy | unpredictable | unreliable | unsettled | unsolid | unsound | unstable | unsteadfast | unsteady | unsubstantial | unsure | untrustworthy

See Also |

Precarious In Webster's Dictionary

\Pre*ca"ri*ous\, a. [L. precarius obtained by begging or prayer, depending on request or on the will of another, fr. precari to pray, beg. See {Pray}.] 1. Depending on the will or pleasure of another; held by courtesy; liable to be changed or lost at the pleasure of another; as, precarious privileges. --Addison. 2. Held by a doubtful tenure; depending on unknown causes or events; exposed to constant risk; not to be depended on for certainty or stability; uncertain; as, a precarious state of health; precarious fortunes. ``Intervals of partial and precarious liberty.'' --Macaulay. Syn: Uncertain; unsettled; unsteady; doubtful; dubious; equivocal. Usage: {Precarious}, {Uncertain}. Precarious in stronger than uncertain. Derived originally from the Latin precari, it first signified ``granted to entreaty,'' and, hence, ``wholly dependent on the will of another.'' Thus it came to express the highest species of uncertainty, and is applied to such things as depend wholly on future casualties. -- {Pre*ca"ri*ous*ly}, adv. -- {Pre*ca"ri*ous*ness}, n.

More Crossword Puzzle Words

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Cross Word Of The Day

  • Idle wheel ‐ a pulley on a shaft that presses against a guide belt to guide…
  • Savin ‐ procumbent or…
  • Cram full ‐ packed full to capacity; "chowder chockablock with pieces of…
  • Lamb's lettuce ‐ widely cultivated as a salad crop and pot herb;…
  • Bismarck sea ‐ World War II naval battle; Allied land-based bombers destroyed…
  • Indiscriminating ‐ not…
  • Astragalus danicus ‐ perennial of southern and western Europe having dense racemes…
  • Coniferophytina ‐ cone-bearing gymnosperms dating from the Carboniferous period;…
  • Unvaried ‐ not diversified [adj]…
  • Animal group ‐ a group…