Word of the Day

: September 4, 2021

jeopardize

verb JEP-er-dyze

What It Means

Jeopardize means "to expose to danger or risk."

// "I'm not willing to jeopardize my friendship with Camille by lying to her," said Luis.

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jeopardize in Context

"Drugmakers believe offering a drug before studies are finished could impair its development and jeopardize FDA approval." — Christina Bennett, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 25 July 2021

Did You Know?

It may be hard to believe that jeopardize was once controversial, but in 1870 a grammarian called it "a foolish and intolerable word," a view shared by many 19th-century critics. The preferred word was jeopard, which first appeared in print in the 14th century. (The upstart jeopardize didn't arrive until the late 16th century.) In 1828, Noah Webster himself declared jeopardize to be "a modern word, used by respectable writers in America, but synonymous with jeopard, and therefore useless." Unfortunately for the champions of jeopard, jeopardize is now much more popular.