ENGLISH
REFERENCE

perilous

adj.
C1 Advanced US //ˈpɛɹəɫəs// UK //pˈɛɹɪləs// per·ilous

adj. full of danger or risk. You use this to describe a situation or journey that could be very harmful.

adj. fraught with danger or risk of injury, loss, or destruction. Often used in literary or formal contexts to describe physical journeys or precarious situations.


SIMPLE

The mountain climbers faced a perilous journey to the top.

CONTEXTUAL

The small boat made a perilous crossing through the stormy waters of the channel.

COMPLEX

Navigating the narrow mountain pass during a blizzard proved to be a perilous undertaking that tested the limits of the team's endurance and equipment.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English perilous, from Old French perilleus, equivalent to peril + -ous, from the noun peril, or from Latin perīculōsus. Doublet of periculous.

Usage

Typically used attributively before a noun or predicatively after a linking verb like 'be' or 'become'.

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