jeopardize
verb
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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
Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
But the administration has suspended many of those incentives, jeopardizing key business investments and the high-paying jobs they were poised to create in factory towns.
—Lael Brainard, Foreign Affairs, 10 Nov. 2025
In the security audit, ANSSI reportedly recommended the Louvre boost its cyber security as well as move away from outdated software that could jeopardize its protective stance.
—Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
The Broncos have a real, festering issue that threatens to jeopardize a special season.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jeopardize
Cite this Entry
“Jeopardize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jeopardize. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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