5 results for: precipitous

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
pre·cip·i·tous    Audio Help   [pri-sip-i-tuhs] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
1.of the nature of or characterized by precipices: a precipitous wall of rock.
2.extremely or impassably steep: precipitous mountain trails.
3.precipitate.

[Origin: 1640–50; < obs. F précipiteux; see precipitate, -ous]

pre·cip·i·tous·ly, adverb
pre·cip·i·tous·ness, noun

2. abrupt, sheer, perpendicular.
1, 2. flat, level.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
precipitous

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pre·cip·i·tous    Audio Help   (prĭ-sĭp'ĭ-təs)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Resembling a precipice; extremely steep. See Synonyms at steep1.
  2. Having several precipices: a precipitous bluff.
  3. Usage Problem Extremely rapid, hasty, or abrupt; precipitate: "The change has included a precipitous collapse of Communist authority" (New York Times). See Usage Note at precipitate.


[Probably from obsolete precipitious, from Latin praecipitium, precipice; see precipice.]

pre·cip'i·tous·ly adv., pre·cip'i·tous·ness n.
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Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
precipitous

adjective
1. done with very great haste and without due deliberation; "hasty marriage seldom proveth well"- Shakespeare; "hasty makeshifts take the place of planning"- Arthur Geddes; "rejected what was regarded as an overhasty plan for reconversion"; "wondered whether they had been rather precipitate in deposing the king" [syn: hasty
2. extremely steep; "an abrupt canyon"; "the precipitous rapids of the upper river"; "the precipitous hills of Chinese paintings"; "a sharp drop" [syn: abrupt

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
precipitous [priˈsipitəs] adjective
very steep
Arabic: شَديد الإنْحِدار
Chinese (Simplified): 陡峭的
Chinese (Traditional): 陡峭的
Czech: strmý
Danish: stejl
Dutch: steil
Estonian: järsk
Finnish: jyrkkä
French: escarpé
German: jäh
Greek: κατακόρυφος
Hungarian: meredek
Icelandic: þverhníptur
Indonesian: terjal
Italian: ripido
Japanese: 切りたった
Korean: 가파른
Latvian: kraujš; stāvs
Lithuanian: status, skardingas
Norwegian: svært bratt
Polish: urwisty
Portuguese (Brazil): escarpado
Portuguese (Portugal): escarpado
Romanian: abrupt
Russian: отвесный
Slovak: strmý
Slovenian: strm
Spanish: escarpado
Swedish: tvärbrant, bråddjup
Turkish: çok dik, uçurumlu
See also: precipice

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.

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