About The Word Precarious
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 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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