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precarious

 - 4 dictionary results

pre⋅car⋅i⋅ous

  [pri-kair-ee-uhs]
–adjective
1. dependent on circumstances beyond one's control; uncertain; unstable; insecure: a precarious livelihood.
2. dependent on the will or pleasure of another; liable to be withdrawn or lost at the will of another: He held a precarious tenure under an arbitrary administration.
3. exposed to or involving danger; dangerous; perilous; risky: the precarious life of an underseas diver.
4. having insufficient, little, or no foundation: a precarious assumption.
Use precarious in a Sentence
Origin:
1640–50; < L precārius obtained by entreaty or mere favor, hence uncertain. See prayer 1

Related forms:
pre⋅car⋅i⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
pre⋅car⋅i⋅ous⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. unsure, unsteady. See uncertain. 2. doubtful, dubious, unreliable, undependable. 3. hazardous. 4. groundless, baseless, unfounded.

Antonyms:
1. secure. 2. reliable. 3. safe. 4. well-founded.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To precarious
pre·car·i·ous   (prĭ-kâr'ē-əs)   
adj.  

  1. Dangerously lacking in security or stability: a precarious posture; precarious footing on the ladder.

  2. Subject to chance or unknown conditions: "His kingdom was still precarious; the Danes far from subdued" (Christopher Brooke).

  3. Based on uncertain, unwarranted, or unproved premises: a precarious solution to a difficult problem.

  4. Archaic Dependent on the will or favor of another.


[From Latin precārius, obtained by entreaty, uncertain, from precārī, to entreat; see pray.]
pre·car'i·ous·ly adv., pre·car'i·ous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

precarious 
1646, a legal word, "held through the favor of another," from L. precarius "obtained by asking or praying," from prex (gen. precis) "entreaty, prayer." Notion of "dependent on the will of another" led to sense "risky, dangerous, uncertain" (1687).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: pre·car·i·ous
Pronunciation: pri-'kar-E-&s
Function: adjective
: depending on the will or pleasure of another precarious office> —see also precarious possession at POSSESSION
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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