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
Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
Attorneys general for 16 Democratic states argue the policy jeopardizes student privacy and forces schools to meet an unreasonable deadline.
—Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
UConn’s 68-62 slip-up last Saturday against Marquette jeopardized the pursuit of a top seed by Florida’s primary competition for the final one.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026
Still, the credit bureaus refused to remove it, jeopardizing her plans to move with her disabled father into a more accessible home.
—Joel Jacobs, CNN Money, 11 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 16 Mar. 2026.
Copy Citation
