Precarious — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

affording no ease or reassurance

fraught with danger

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pɹɪkˈɛɹiəs/

🇬🇧British English

/pɹɪkˈeəɹiəs/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pɹɪkˈeəɹiəs/

3 syllables Say it as /pɹɪkˈɛɹiəs/.

Examples

a precarious truce
dangerous waters
a parlous journey on stormy seas

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

touch-and-go perilous parlous shaky unstable

Parts of Speech

adjective	affording no ease or reassurance “a precarious truce”
adjective	fraught with danger “dangerous waters”
adjective	not secure; beset with difficulties “a shaky marriage”

Word Forms

precariousness	noun	being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance
unstableness	noun	the quality or attribute of being unstable and irresolute
peril	noun	a state of danger involving risk
perilousness	noun	the state of being dangerous
shakiness	noun	the quality of being unstable and insecure

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

prekär

bietet keine Erleichterung oder Beruhigung

🇫🇷French

précaire

n'apportant ni facilité ni assurance

🇪🇸Spanish

precario

sin ofrecer tranquilidad ni tranquilidad

🇮🇹Italian

precario

non offrendo alcun sollievo o rassicurazione

🇳🇱Dutch

onzeker

biedt geen gemak of geruststelling

🇵🇹Portuguese

precário

não proporcionando nenhuma facilidade ou segurança

🇷🇺Russian

ненадежный

не давая облегчения или уверенности

India

🇮🇳Hindi

अनिश्चित

कोई सहजता या आश्वासन नहीं

🇧🇩Bengali

অনিশ্চিত

কোন সহজ বা আশ্বাস affording

🇮🇳Tamil

ஆபத்தான

எளிதாக அல்லது உறுதியளிக்கவில்லை

🇮🇳Telugu

ప్రమాదకరమైన

ఎటువంటి సౌలభ్యం లేదా భరోసా ఇవ్వడం లేదు

🇮🇳Marathi

अनिश्चित

कोणतीही सहजता किंवा आश्वासन परवडत नाही

🇮🇳Gujarati

અનિશ્ચિત

કોઈ સરળતા અથવા આશ્વાસન આપતા નથી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅನಿಶ್ಚಿತ

ಯಾವುದೇ ನಿರಾಳತೆ ಅಥವಾ ಭರವಸೆಯನ್ನು ನೀಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അപകടകരമായ

അനായാസമോ ഉറപ്പോ നൽകാതെ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਨਾਜ਼ੁਕ

ਕੋਈ ਆਸਾਨੀ ਜਾਂ ਭਰੋਸਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਦੇਣਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

غیر یقینی

کسی آسانی یا یقین دہانی کا متحمل نہیں ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

不稳定的

没有提供任何轻松或保证

🇯🇵Japanese

不安定な

安らぎも安心感も得られない

🇰🇷Korean

믿을 수 없는

편안함이나 안심을 제공하지 않음

🇻🇳Vietnamese

bấp bênh

không mang lại sự thoải mái hoặc yên tâm

🇹🇭Thai

ล่อแหลม

ไม่มีความสบายใจหรือความมั่นใจเลย

🇮🇩Indonesian

genting

tidak memberikan kemudahan atau kepastian

🇵🇭Filipino

walang katiyakan

hindi nagbibigay ng kadalian o katiyakan

🇲🇾Malay

tidak menentu

tidak memberikan kemudahan atau jaminan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

محفوف بالمخاطر

لا توفر راحة أو طمأنينة

🇮🇷Persian

پرمخاطره

هیچ سهولت یا اطمینانی نمی دهد

🇹🇷Turkish

güvencesiz

hiçbir kolaylık ya da güvence vermiyor

🇮🇱Hebrew

מְסוּכָּן

ללא הקלות או ביטחון

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'precarious'?

The primary meaning of 'precarious' is 'affording no ease or reassurance'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'precarious' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'precarious' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'precarious' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'precarious' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'precarious' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'precarious' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'precarious' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'precarious' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'precarious' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'precarious' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted