HAZARDS Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

hazards 1 of 2

noun

plural of hazard

as in threats

something that may cause injury or harm the tumbledown old barn was considered a fire hazard

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in chances

the uncertain course of events it was only by hazard and good fortune that we found our way back to the trail

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hazards

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of hazard

as in endangers

to place in danger just so the tourists could see the sea lions up close, the captain needlessly hazarded his ship

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in risks

to take a chance on was unwilling to hazard landing the plane on the small island, which didn't even have an airfield

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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 hazards

Noun

Shoreline hazards have been known to the area since the 1960s, the commission said, but homes built in the area weren’t initially designed to withstand them. — Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026 Floca denied their allegations, saying recent investigations of the leaks exposed new hazards at the building. — ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026 The dressers, sold by Walmart for $80 apiece, were recalled due to deadly tip-over and entrapment hazards for children. — Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 25 Sep. 2026 Chicago has an opportunity to set a nationwide example for protecting its workforce from a new generation of worksite hazards driven by rising temperatures. — Maria Hadden, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026 Roughly half of losses from natural hazards worldwide are uninsured. — Marcene Mitchell, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026 That data flows into BlindSquare, which provides spoken alerts in 26 languages about hazards roughly 10 meters ahead. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026 Mold & Mildew Growth Allergies and respiratory issues aren’t the only health hazards that can come from dust in the bathroom. — Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2026 The episode also illustrates the peculiar hazards of an underground band suddenly becoming music business bait. — Spin Staff, SPIN, 18 Sep. 2026

Verb

That hazards statement originally had been in place through early Wednesday morning. — Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 15 June 2026 Forecasters say confidence is lower in the exact timing, where storms will be strongest, and which hazards will be most likely. — Kansas City Star, 23 Apr. 2026 Clothes Iron and Steamer Many cruise lines have policies forbidding the use of clothes irons and steamers and won’t allow these fire hazards onboard. — Jill Schildhouse, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2026 At over 1,800 lives lost per year, winter vehicle-crash fatalities are four times greater than the total number of all other weather hazards combined, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). — Jim Gorzelany, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026 Beach hazards statements will remain in effect until conditions improve and are expected to be re-evaluated regularly. — Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025 However, Starlink’s own public record also showcases how rapidly the collision hazards in orbit are evolving. — IEEE Spectrum, 30 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hazards

Noun

And as these entities' use and reliance on digital systems expands, so too does their exposure to potential cybersecurity threats.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026
Alito’s concerns are not unfounded, as threats to members in recent history have raised alarm about justices’ safety.

— Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of threats

Noun

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated Monday that the chances of making speedy headway on forging a peace settlement were bleak after recent Ukrainian attacks, including during recent parliamentary elections in Russia.

— HANNA ARHIROVA, Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026
Desperate to regain her dominance while dazzling pageant recruiter Eloise Amponsah (Tony Award winner Patina Miller), who was Miss Ghana 1966, Paulina launches a campaign to crush Ericka’s spirit and dash her chances in the spotlight.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of chances

Verb

However, the work, done with Tanzanian government partners, helps track threatened species and monitor human activity that endangers the region’s wildlife, making the few cameras lost in the process all the more worth it.

— Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2026
In response to that case, a biotech CEO recently warned in these pages that letting courts and politicians second-guess the FDA’s scientific judgment endangers the whole drug pipeline.

— Julie F. Kay, STAT, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of endangers

Verb

The policy, however, risks a downshift in hiring and an uptick in the unemployment rate, though such fallout typically takes hold after a lag time lasting several months.

— Max Zahn, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
That seemingly sound advice from the master of the field now risks backfiring, Doctorow argued.

— Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of risks

Noun

Tiny creatures like crabs and ants traveled huge distances, encountering all sorts of dangers—driven by the instinct to lay eggs and reproduce at any cost.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
As a dark parable for the dangers of climate change, the film has already proved polarizing, with early reviews coming in mixed.

— Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of dangers

Noun

It is said that touching the polished engravings of the event placed at the pedestal of the Nepomuk statue will bring luck and ensure a return to Prague.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
Playing Stratego well requires randomizing the arrangement of your pieces, so luck always plays a role.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of luck

Verb

After five shootings in less than a week left at least 46 people dead, South Africa is wrestling with how to tackle a spike in gun crime that threatens to undo recent progress in reducing its notoriously high murder rate.

— Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Now, the growing popularity of AI search with consumers threatens to reverse that progress.

— Dax Dasilva, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of threatens

Noun

In its statement, FARDC said an investigation to determine the actual circumstances and the exact causes of the fatal plane crash was already underway.

— Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2026
Iranian officials previously regarded shuttering the waterway as a measure of last resort, to be attempted only in extreme circumstances.

— Ali Vaez, Foreign Affairs, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of circumstances

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hazardous

hazards

haze

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“Hazards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hazards. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hazards

noun

verb

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