as in instability
the quality or state of not being firmly fixed in position
she quickly moved the china teapot after noticing its precariousness on the shelf
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 precariousness
Recurrent themes running through the selection are motherhood, love and precariousness, and often precariousness linked to motherhood, such as in Adam’s Interest and the other Belgian film Kika.
—
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Apr. 2025
Because this clever, funny play is both an attentive ode to Greenspan’s extraordinary artistry as a playwright-performer and an unsparing meditation on the psychic and financial precariousness of playwriting as a creative life.
—Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
However, the precariousness of their existence was clear.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
For job seekers, that precariousness has become full-blown.
—Rob Wile, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for precariousness
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Apr. 2025
Because this clever, funny play is both an attentive ode to Greenspan’s extraordinary artistry as a playwright-performer and an unsparing meditation on the psychic and financial precariousness of playwriting as a creative life.
—Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
However, the precariousness of their existence was clear.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
For job seekers, that precariousness has become full-blown.
—Rob Wile, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for precariousness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for precariousness
instability
Noun
-
Advertisement Strikes reinforce Chinese view of U.S. instability China already saw the U.S. under the Trump Administration as an unstable partner, particularly after Trump slammed the world with staggering tariff rates before abruptly reversing course.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
27 June 2025
-
Yet the aftershocks of 2008 continue, and today’s economic pressures—rising costs, stagnant wages, global instability—are forcing a reckoning.—
Benjamin van der Lande,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Precariousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precariousness. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share