as in dangerous
involving potential loss or injury
window washing can indeed be a parlous occupation on a skyscraper
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Example Sentences
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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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Brith had shut her eyes, finding that the sparks were still living on the inside of the lids, vivid in their dangerous dark.—
Maggie O’Farrell,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
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Carpenter says the disturbing encounters left her fearful for her safety and that of relatives living with her, as police label the suspect’s fixation irrational and increasingly dangerous.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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Nearly as well-respected as DEET, picaridin is highly effective against the most hazardous mosquito breeds and, notably, won’t damage plastic or some synthetic fibers the way DEET does.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
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Strong longshore currents can sweep swimmers and surfers into rip currents, piers, jetties and other hazardous areas.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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With Hillary Dawa alone on the world’s tallest mountain in perilous conditions for so long, his family had already begun funeral rites for him.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
5 June 2026
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In the days after finding the five men alive, rescuers made the perilous journey in and out of the cave multiple times to bring them food and water.—
Janis Mackey Frayer,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
The riskiest habit is preheating an empty nonstick pan on high heat.—
Ryan Brennan
June 2,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
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Using money from depositors who had the right to withdraw their funds on demand to finance long-term, illiquid investments with an uncertain and distant payoff was a highly risky strategy—and one with echoes of what is currently creating turmoil among private credit funds today.—
Fortune,
Fortune,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy appeared to escape serious injury after being involved in a violent collision during a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Thursday.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2026
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This is a moment for difficult conversations and serious action.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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But while the budget is technically balanced, its foundation is precarious.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
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Updates to Cap-and-Invest come at a precarious time for consumers.—
Rob Nikolewski,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Parlous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parlous. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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