peril
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About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.1per·il
noun \ˈper-əl, ˈpe-rəl\Definition of PERIL
1
: exposure to the risk of being injured, destroyed, or lost : danger <fire put the city in peril>
2
: something that imperils or endangers : risk <lessen the perils of the streets>
See Examples of PERIL
- People are unaware of the peril these miners face each day.
- She described global warming as “a growing peril.”
- Just last week he issued a statement encouraging all Iraqis to participate in the election scheduled for January, and he called on the Iraqi government to start registering voters. The powers that be in Iraq ignore him at their peril. —Johanna McGeary, Time, 25 Oct. 2004
- One lesson of both the law-school and the Paulin controversies may be the peril of making free-speech judgments at Internet speed. —Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2003
- The old man rose and towered over Cameron, and then plunged down upon him, and clutched at his throat with terrible stifling hands. The harsh contact, the pain awakened Cameron to his peril before it was too late. —Zane Grey, Desert Gold, 1913
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Origin of PERIL
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin periculum — more at fear
First Known Use: 13th century
Related to PERIL
2per·il
transitive verb \ˈper-əl, ˈpe-rəl\per·iled also per·illedper·il·ing also per·il·ling
Definition of PERIL
: to expose to danger
Examples of PERIL
- <a tribute to the men and women who, as firefighters, peril their lives daily>
- … she did more harm than all Frederick's diplomacy could repair, and perilled her chance of her inheritance like a giddy heedless creature as she was. —William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, 1848
Origin of PERIL
(see 1peril)
First Known Use: 1567
Related to PERIL
- Synonyms
- adventure, compromise, gamble (with), hazard, imperil, jeopard, jeopardize, menace, endanger, risk, venture
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