as in dangerous
involving potential loss or injury
window washing can indeed be a parlous occupation on a skyscraper
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Recent Examples of parlous
Photograph: Lamborghini This move from Lamborghini underlines the parlous state of luxury EVs at present, a trend WIRED has charted.
—
Jeremy White, Wired News, 23 Feb. 2026
Declining revenues combined with soaring wage costs shifted the club’s finances into a parlous state.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026
The increasingly parlous state of Francophone West Africa’s second-largest economy led to a credit downgrade by S&P in July which has pushed up borrowing costs.
—semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2025
Reflecting wider financial market nerves around the parlous state of French politics, the yield on France’s 30-year bond yield rose above 4.5% on Tuesday — hitting a level last seen in 2008 — before lightly easing to to 4.48% on Wednesday.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for parlous
Jeremy White, Wired News, 23 Feb. 2026
Declining revenues combined with soaring wage costs shifted the club’s finances into a parlous state.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026
The increasingly parlous state of Francophone West Africa’s second-largest economy led to a credit downgrade by S&P in July which has pushed up borrowing costs.
—semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2025
Reflecting wider financial market nerves around the parlous state of French politics, the yield on France’s 30-year bond yield rose above 4.5% on Tuesday — hitting a level last seen in 2008 — before lightly easing to to 4.48% on Wednesday.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for parlous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parlous
Adjective
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Battista and Tucker are two of the most dangerous hitters in the state.—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
12 May 2026
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If Iran gets away with charging any kind of toll or fee for passing through it, that principle is shot, and that is a dangerous thing.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
Adjective
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The building where the fire broke out has 107 housing code violations, including 39 that are considered immediately hazardous, building records show.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
5 May 2026
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As wildfires get more extreme, agency personnel have less time to reduce vegetation, known as hazardous fuels work, which sets the stage for even bigger blazes.—
Lauren Sommer,
NPR,
4 May 2026
Adjective
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In the second novel of the Amina al-Sirafi fantasy series, Chakraborty sets her pirate protagonist out onto the high seas for some perilous pilfering after being dragged into her partner’s problems.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
8 May 2026
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More than two months into the war in Iran, navigation through the Strait of Hormuz – the key waterway through which more than a third of the international trade in oil and gas passes – remains perilous and uncertain.—
Vivek Krishnamurthy,
The Conversation,
5 May 2026
Adjective
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When the sway gets too risky, the captain closes some of the outer decks.—
Akash Kapur,
New Yorker,
12 May 2026
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Magic erasers are useful, but using them too often is risky.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Miami Herald,
12 May 2026
Adjective
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Regardless, much of the developing world is made up of much younger countries, with populations in Africa, for example, at much lower risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19 than elderly individuals with comorbidities in the United States or Western Europe.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
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If swallowed, button cell or coin batteries can cause severe internal chemical burns, serious injuries and death, the agency said.—
Anthony Thompson,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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This tiny trans-Neptunian object, meanwhile, has a remarkably precarious atmosphere perhaps composed of methane, nitrogen or carbon monoxide that is 5 to 10 million times thinner than Earth's, Reuters reported.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
6 May 2026
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Constable and Turner remain central to British identity today, their paintings reproduced on coffee mugs and fridge magnets; Church’s position in American culture is more precarious.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Parlous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parlous. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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