Word
jeopardy
Phoneticsjeop·ardy
US/ˈdʒɛpɝdi/
UK/dʒˈɛpədi/
Definitions
01danger or risk
n. the danger of losing something, failing, or being harmed.
n. the state of being at risk of loss, harm, or failure. Uncountable in general usage.
“The driver put the lives of his passengers in jeopardy by speeding through the rain.”
“The sudden withdrawal of government subsidies has placed the entire research project in jeopardy, threatening years of data collection.”
Formal
02legal risk
n. the risk of being found guilty in a court of law.
n. the danger of conviction or punishment faced by a defendant on trial.
“The lawyer argued that the new evidence put his client in double jeopardy.”
“The constitutional protection against double jeopardy ensures that a defendant cannot be tried twice for the same crime following an acquittal.”
Technical · Formal
Synonyms
03to endanger
v. to put someone or something in a dangerous situation.
v. to expose to loss or injury; to imperil. This transitive form is largely superseded by the modern verb 'jeopardize'.
“He would not jeopardy his soul for a few pieces of gold.”
“The knight refused to jeopardy his honour by engaging in a deceptive plot against the crown.”
Archaic
Usage
In modern English, use 'jeopardize' instead of the verb form 'jeopardy'.
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“Significantly, survival was achieved last spring after an unconvincing start to the campaign that, by November, had placed Farke’s job in jeopardy.” “So if it’s zero jeopardy, it’s become a pointless endeavour.” Etymology
From Middle English jupartie, jeupartie (“even chance”), from Anglo-Norman giu parti and Middle French jeu parti (“a divided game, i.e. an even game, an even chance”), from Medieval Latin iocus partītus (“an even chance, an alternative”), from Latin iocus (“jest, play, game”) + partītus, perfect passive participle of partiō (“divide”); see joke and party.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/jeopardy