DANGEROUSLY Synonyms: 117 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'dangerous' distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of dangerous are hazardous , perilous , precarious , and risky . While all these words mean "bringing or involving the chance of loss or injury," dangerous applies to something that may cause harm or loss unless dealt with carefully. // soldiers on a dangerous mission

Q: When could 'hazardous' be used to replace 'dangerous'?

The meanings of hazardous and dangerous largely overlap; however, hazardous implies great and continuous risk of harm or failure. // claims that smoking is hazardous to your health

Q: When can 'perilous' be used instead of 'dangerous'?

The synonyms perilous and dangerous are sometimes interchangeable, but perilous strongly implies the immediacy of danger. // perilous mountain roads

Q: When might 'precarious' be a better fit than 'dangerous'?

In some situations, the words precarious and dangerous are roughly equivalent. However, precarious suggests both insecurity and uncertainty. // earned a precarious living by gambling

Q: When is it sensible to use 'risky' instead of 'dangerous'?

The words risky and dangerous can be used in similar contexts, but risky often applies to a known and accepted danger. // shied away from risky investments

dangerous

adjective

ˈdān-jə-rəs

Definition of dangerous

as in hazardous

involving potential loss or injury the soldiers were specially selected to go on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in harmful

causing or capable of causing harm the common knowledge that smoking is dangerous to one's health hasn't stopped some people

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word dangerous distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of dangerous are hazardous, perilous, precarious, and risky. While all these words mean "bringing or involving the chance of loss or injury," dangerous applies to something that may cause harm or loss unless dealt with carefully.

soldiers on a dangerous mission

When could hazardous be used to replace dangerous?

The meanings of hazardous and dangerous largely overlap; however, hazardous implies great and continuous risk of harm or failure.

claims that smoking is hazardous to your health

When can perilous be used instead of dangerous?

The synonyms perilous and dangerous are sometimes interchangeable, but perilous strongly implies the immediacy of danger.

perilous mountain roads

When might precarious be a better fit than dangerous?

In some situations, the words precarious and dangerous are roughly equivalent. However, precarious suggests both insecurity and uncertainty.

earned a precarious living by gambling

When is it sensible to use risky instead of dangerous?

The words risky and dangerous can be used in similar contexts, but risky often applies to a known and accepted danger.

shied away from risky investments

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of dangerous The catalyst was the Strait of Hormuz, where the standoff between Washington and Tehran entered a dangerous new phase, pushing the price of Brent crude up by more than 10% to $85/barrel, the highest in four weeks. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 19 July 2026 With boos and jeers ringing around Expo Idaho at the referees, AC Boise continued to pepper the Portland box with dangerous crosses and shots. — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 18 July 2026 Quinn Tupaea was a dynamo in midfield for New Zealand and Damian McKenzie was dangerous both from fullback and from flyhalf later in the game. — ABC News, 18 July 2026 Along with dystopian views of Chicago or the World Cup final’s stadium, wildfire smoke is creating dangerous conditions for people to breathe. — Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 18 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for dangerous

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dangerous

Adjective

Anything other than a plane crash, such as a building fire, medical emergency or hazardous materials spill at the airport, is handled by the Carlsbad Fire Department, and a large incident would bring in mutual aid from other agencies in the region.

— Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 July 2026
The project is being led by Li Mingtao, chief scientist for planetary defense at the China National Space Administration, and is intended to advance technologies that could one day help protect Earth from hazardous near-Earth objects.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 19 July 2026

Definition of hazardous

Adjective

The as-yet-untitled series will follow the story of multiple families and campaigners including Ellen Roome, who believes that the tragic death of her beloved 14-year-old son Julian ‘Jools’ Sweeney could have been linked to harmful social media.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 15 July 2026
And planting near any street could expose trees to harmful salt spray when roads are treated in the winter.

— Viveka Neveln, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 July 2026

Definition of harmful

Adjective

When a drug manufacturer validates a production process using a particular filtration platform or bioprocessing system, changing suppliers becomes expensive, time-consuming and potentially risky.

— Harvey Stober, CNBC, 14 July 2026
Another solution is to train entirely separate models with the risky data stripped out — which is effective, but expensive to do repeatedly.

— Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 14 July 2026

Definition of risky

Adjective

Unfortunately, during the early to mid-twentieth century, negative perceptions of immigrant and ethnic laborers led many outsiders to view their neighborhoods as unsafe, unclean, and detrimental to the social fabric of American cities.

— Michelle Oliva-Espinosa, Kansas City Star, 18 July 2026
Pruning can stress them even further, creating a scenario that can be detrimental to your plants.

— Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 16 July 2026

Definition of detrimental

Adjective

Many refugees continue to make perilous sea journeys on rickety boats to flee the violence.

— Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
But regardless of what happens on Starship’s 13th flight, the vehicle—and the nation—still has a long and perilous journey ahead, with many more test flights to come before bringing astronauts to the moon or anywhere else.

— Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 16 July 2026

Definition of perilous

Adjective

The inmate claimed that he was told Kelly and his attorneys were planning to expose damaging information, as the filing alleged that officials violated attorney-client privilege by intercepting personal correspondence.

— Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 15 July 2026
Ultimately, Moraff and Fan deemed the issue politically damaging and moved on from Williams to Platner — who was already the subject of a 2024 Facebook post warning women not to get involved with him.

— Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 15 July 2026

Definition of damaging

Adjective

Surrounding areas are under a very serious Level 3 of 4 risk.

— Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
However, the area does have serious needs for infrastructure improvement, such as addressing flooding that has long affected neighborhoods like Argentine during rainy times of year.

— Sofi Zeman July 14, Kansas City Star, 14 July 2026

Definition of serious

Adjective

But this isn’t because of potential health risks or adverse effects in-flight—cabin crew simply dislike pouring it because of its excessive fizziness.

— Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 17 July 2026
The scientific debate Scientists do not always agree on what counts as an adverse effect of mindfulness.

— Ronald S. Green, The Conversation, 16 July 2026

Definition of adverse

Browse Nearby Words

danger

dangerous

dangers

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Dangerous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dangerous. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of dangerous

adjective

Synonym Chooser

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on dangerous

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

dog days

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes