as in to endanger
to place in danger
a single mistake could imperil the lives of everyone involved in the military operation
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Recent Examples of imperil
The ruling immediately imperils the cornerstone of the administration’s economic strategy, transforming America’s negotiator-in-chief into a leader stripped of his most potent leverage.
—
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2026
In particular, her office took issue with a passage in the order that said the mayor’s office would be involved in referring cases to prosecutors, a procedure that the prosecutor’s office said would imperil potential cases by politicizing the process.
—Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2026
If real estate values falter in a region, the decline could imperil a crucial revenue stream from property taxes for cities, counties, regional agencies, and school districts.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
If only because Spencer Pratt’s plan for Los Angeles does not address public transit, and thus imperils the train.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for imperil
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2026
In particular, her office took issue with a passage in the order that said the mayor’s office would be involved in referring cases to prosecutors, a procedure that the prosecutor’s office said would imperil potential cases by politicizing the process.
—Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2026
If real estate values falter in a region, the decline could imperil a crucial revenue stream from property taxes for cities, counties, regional agencies, and school districts.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
If only because Spencer Pratt’s plan for Los Angeles does not address public transit, and thus imperils the train.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for imperil
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imperil
Verb
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In this case, though, when Kelly landed from his jump, his foot came down on Yilmaz’s Achilles tendon and Kwiatkowski decided that his actions could endanger the safety of his opponent — an offence that warrants a straight red card instead of a yellow.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
27 Feb. 2026
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He was convicted in December of conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring to publish seditious articles, which carried a maximum penalty of life in prison.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Not long afterward, he was elected president on a platform deeply hostile to the West and its liberal ideology, and especially to the United States — threatening a hard fight in the event of war.—
Abbas Al Lawati,
CNN Money,
1 Mar. 2026
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Ecologists have been trying to protect the delicate caves for years as development and pollution increasingly threaten the underwater waterways.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imperil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imperil. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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