danger

[ deyn-jer ]
See synonyms for danger on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. liability or exposure to harm or injury; risk; peril.

  2. an instance or cause of peril; menace.

  1. Obsolete. power; jurisdiction; domain.

Origin of danger

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English da(u)nger, from Anglo-French, Old French dangier, alteration of dongier (by influence of dam damage), from Vulgar Latin domniārium (unrecorded), equivalent to Latin domini(um) dominion + -ārium (neuter of -ārius -ary)

synonym study For danger

1. Danger, hazard, peril, jeopardy imply harm that one may encounter. Danger is the general word for liability to all kinds of injury or evil consequences, either near at hand and certain, or remote and doubtful: to be in danger of being killed. Hazard suggests a danger that one can foresee but cannot avoid: A mountain climber is exposed to many hazards. Peril usually denotes great and imminent danger: The passengers on the disabled ship were in great peril. Jeopardy, a less common word, has essentially the same meaning as peril, but emphasizes exposure to the chances of a situation: To save his friend he put his life in jeopardy.

Other words from danger

  • dan·ger·less, adjective
  • su·per·dan·ger, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for danger

danger

/ (ˈdeɪndʒə) /


noun
  1. the state of being vulnerable to injury, loss, or evil; risk

  2. a person or thing that may cause injury, pain, etc

  1. obsolete power

  2. in danger of liable to

  3. on the danger list critically ill in hospital

Origin of danger

1
C13: daunger power, hence power to inflict injury, from Old French dongier (from Latin dominium ownership) blended with Old French dam injury, from Latin damnum

Derived forms of danger

  • dangerless, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012