| / English Dictionary |
PERIL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A venture undertaken without regard to possible loss or injury
Example:
there was a danger he would do the wrong thing
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("peril" is a kind of...):
venture (any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "peril"):
chance (a risk involving danger)
crapshoot (a risky and uncertain venture)
gamble (a risky act or venture)
Derivation:
peril (put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position)
perilous (fraught with danger)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
Example:
drinking alcohol is a health hazard
Synonyms:
endangerment; hazard; jeopardy; peril; risk
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("peril" is a kind of...):
danger (a cause of pain or injury or loss)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "peril"):
health hazard (hazard to the health of those exposed to it)
moral hazard ((economics) the lack of any incentive to guard against a risk when you are protected against it (as by insurance))
occupational hazard (any condition of a job that can result in illness or injury)
sword of Damocles (a constant and imminent peril)
Derivation:
peril (put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position)
peril (pose a threat to; present a danger to)
perilous (fraught with danger)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A state of danger involving risk
Synonyms:
peril; riskiness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("peril" is a kind of...):
danger (the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "peril"):
speculativeness (financial risk)
Derivation:
peril (put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position)
peril (pose a threat to; present a danger to)
perilous (fraught with danger)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position
Synonyms:
endanger; expose; peril; queer; scupper
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "peril" is one way to...):
affect; bear on; bear upon; impact; touch; touch on (have an effect upon)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "peril"):
compromise (expose or make liable to danger, suspicion, or disrepute)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Derivation:
peril (a venture undertaken without regard to possible loss or injury)
peril (a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune)
peril (a state of danger involving risk)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Pose a threat to; present a danger to
Example:
The pollution is endangering the crops
Synonyms:
endanger; imperil; jeopardise; jeopardize; menace; peril; threaten
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "peril" is one way to...):
be; exist (have an existence, be extant)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Sentence example:
Sam cannot peril Sue
Derivation:
peril (a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune)
peril (a state of danger involving risk)
Context examples:
And yet this John Openshaw seems to me to be walking amid even greater perils than did the Sholtos.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
But our aid was of little avail and only involved us in the same peril.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Not only was such an act sacrilegious in its nature, but it was fraught with peril.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
I write to you, encompassed by peril and ignorant whether I am ever doomed to see again dear England and the dearer friends that inhabit it.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Climate change is one of the biggest global threats to human health of the 21st century, and its peril to society will be increasingly connected to weather-driven hazards, said Giovanni Forzieri of the European Commission Joint Research Center in Italy, who co-led the study.
(Study: Climate Change Will Bring 50-Fold Rise in Europe Weather-related Deaths, VOA News)
Therefore I blessed this Mr. Overton whoever he might be, since he had come with his enigmatic message to break that dangerous calm which brought more peril to my friend than all the storms of his tempestuous life.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I walked with the utmost circumspection, to avoid treading on any stragglers who might remain in the streets, although the orders were very strict, that all people should keep in their houses, at their own peril.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
I am up now; but at your peril you fetch a candle yet: wait two minutes till I get into some dry garments, if any dry there be—yes, here is my dressing-gown.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
I clung with both hands till my nails ached, and I shut my eyes as if to cover up the peril.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
“Twice have we come scathless out of peril, and now for the third time I commend me to the blessed James of Compostella, to whom I vow—”
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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