as in threats
something that may cause injury or harm
life is full of unexpected perils
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in endangers
to place in danger
a tribute to the men and women who, as firefighters, peril their lives daily
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 perils
Peter Slevin, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Watch the cautionary tale about the perils of the transfer portal turn into a fairy-tale comeback.
—Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026
There’s a theme that’s emerging amongst the best sci-fi thrillers, and that’s in the exploration of artificial intelligence, its capabilities, and its perils.
—Grace Dean, Space.com, 2 May 2026
The perils of going down were distilled into a single afternoon last Saturday, as the scorelines swung in different directions during Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United’s home game with Everton.
—Mark Carey, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Four years ago, the EU received a crash course in the perils of foreign fossil fuel dependence.
—Tristan Bove, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2026
King Charles has been vocal about sustainability and the perils and consequences of climate change for decades.
—Helen Murphy, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
That includes promoting undercover videos showing the perils of factory farming, sometimes with narrators or amplifiers like Joaquin Phoenix, Alicia Silverstone, Pamela Anderson and Woody Harrelson.
—Erik Hayden, HollywoodReporter, 17 Apr. 2026
At a time when, even before the perils of war, thousands of Iranians were killed for demanding liberty, his work meets the moment with honesty and urgency.
—Nazanin Boniadi, Time, 15 Apr. 2026
Noun
Trump, Obama told people, seemed indifferent to hearing about potential national-security perils—North Korea, Russia—preferring to brag about the size of the crowds at his campaign rallies.
—Peter Slevin, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Watch the cautionary tale about the perils of the transfer portal turn into a fairy-tale comeback.
—Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026
There’s a theme that’s emerging amongst the best sci-fi thrillers, and that’s in the exploration of artificial intelligence, its capabilities, and its perils.
—Grace Dean, Space.com, 2 May 2026
The perils of going down were distilled into a single afternoon last Saturday, as the scorelines swung in different directions during Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United’s home game with Everton.
—Mark Carey, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Four years ago, the EU received a crash course in the perils of foreign fossil fuel dependence.
—Tristan Bove, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2026
King Charles has been vocal about sustainability and the perils and consequences of climate change for decades.
—Helen Murphy, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
That includes promoting undercover videos showing the perils of factory farming, sometimes with narrators or amplifiers like Joaquin Phoenix, Alicia Silverstone, Pamela Anderson and Woody Harrelson.
—Erik Hayden, HollywoodReporter, 17 Apr. 2026
At a time when, even before the perils of war, thousands of Iranians were killed for demanding liberty, his work meets the moment with honesty and urgency.
—Nazanin Boniadi, Time, 15 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perils
Noun
-
Real agencies usually provide clear, specific notices, not a long list of escalating threats in a single text.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
Peter Cade | Photodisc | Getty Images Many retirees worry about how threats like inflation, living longer or market volatility could impact their nest egg.—
Kate Dore, CFP®, EA,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Trump has accused Pope Leo XIV of being soft on terrorism and supporting negotiations with Iran, claiming the pontiff endangers Catholics by failing to oppose Iran’s potential acquisition of nuclear weapons.—
Nicole Winfield,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
-
The teaser also reveals that the titular character has a huge company, which endangers millions with a drilling operation that goes too far.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The optics of the ceremony soon sparked backlash from the faithful and religious leaders, many of whom drew a parallel to biblical scripture Exodus 32, which warns believers about the dangers of creating false idols and worshiping other gods.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
12 May 2026
-
Blanchett has long been vocal about the dangers of AI.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
In taking on such an iconic figure—one whose compositions have been deconstructed and reconstructed in seemingly every possible direction—the group risks revealing the method to its madness.—
Levi Dayan,
Pitchfork,
11 May 2026
-
Selina, the slenderest of all the girls, risks her life to salvage it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
Forecasters say confidence is lower in the exact timing, where storms will be strongest, and which hazards will be most likely.—
Kansas City Star,
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
Verb
-
But even summarizing the first absolute banger of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival this way threatens to boil the film down to its themes and its craft, the way Kris does with the original Camp Miasma, at the cost of delving into the experience of watching it.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
14 May 2026
-
Alex Wong / Getty Images In a nod to the historic nature of the summit, ahead of the bilateral talks, Xi invoked the Thucydides Trap — a theory that describes the tendency toward conflict when an emerging power threatens an existing power.—
Katherine Doyle,
NBC news,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perils.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perils. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
