About The Word Precarious
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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
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Precarious Definition And Meaning |
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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.
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