jeopardize
verb
Did you know?
Jeopardize Has a Controversial History
Imagine you’re a contestant on a game show, and your task is to provide a question as a response to this statement from the host: “This word was once controversial, and in 1870 a grammarian called it ‘a foolish and intolerable word,’ a view shared by many 19th-century critics.” If you answered, “What is jeopardize?,” you might be going home with some money! The preferred word back then was jeopard, which first appeared in print in the 14th century. The upstart jeopardize didn’t arrive until the late 16th century, and took a while to catch on. In 1828, Noah Webster himself declared jeopardize to be “a modern word, used by respectable writers in America, but synonymous with jeopard, and therefore useless.” Unfortunately for the champions of jeopard, increased usage of jeopardize ultimately put the former word in jeopardy. Jeopard is now only rarely heard.
Examples of jeopardize in a Sentence
Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
The think tank proposals of this R&D tax would foolishly jeopardize this activity.
—Tomas J. Philipson, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2026
During Thursday's hearing, Cherfilus-McCormick's lawyer unsuccessfully sought to postpone any action by the panel until after her criminal trial and warned that moving forward with the poceeding would jeopardize the congresswoman's right to a fair trial.
—Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
Chesterton Council President Erin Collins, D-2nd, said the safety of police officers and residents could be jeopardized.
—Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for jeopardize
Cite this Entry
“Jeopardize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jeopardize. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
Copy Citation
