peril

[ per-uhl ]

noun

1. exposure to injury, loss, or destruction; grave risk; jeopardy; danger:

   They faced the peril of falling rocks.

2. something that causes or may cause injury, loss, or destruction.

verb (used with object)

, per·iled, per·il·ing or (especially British) per·illed, per·il·ling.

1. to expose to danger; imperil; risk.

peril

/ ˈpɛrɪl /

noun

1. exposure to risk or harm; danger or jeopardy

Other Words From

• peril·less adjective
• multi·peril adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of peril¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin perīculum “danger, test, trial,” from perī-, verb base meaning “try” (also found in the compound experīrī “to try, test”; experience ) + -culum -cle ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of peril¹

C13: via Old French from Latin perīculum

Synonym Study

See danger.

Example Sentences

Day cares have long operated on slim margins, and the pandemic has thrown them into financial peril.

From Washington Post

Naked ambitionAll this week I’ll be writing about “Purity” and Audrey Munson, a forgotten figure in the history of American film and a tragic example of the perils of celebrity.

From Washington Post

Every several recipes, Martin breaks to detail life on the water — and highlight the peril Louisiana’s coastline faces.

From Washington Post

Followers of late artists have in turn helped bring to light the perils of the music industry, in hopes of promoting change.

From Washington Post

At least 46 million jobs supported by air transport are in peril.

From Fortune

We separate the search for justice from the search for truth at our peril.

From The Daily Beast

Facts have weight and mass, and we ignore them or abuse them at our own peril.

From The Daily Beast

I was lost, fresh back from Vietnam, searching, maybe, for a peril the equivalent of war but aimed in the direction of life.

From The Daily Beast

Now poaching is on the rise and wildlife conservation in peril.

From The Daily Beast

Rick must shepherd his newborn daughter, Judith, through this world of peril.

From The Daily Beast

I must aspire to the agitating transports of self-devotion, in scenes of sacrifice and peril!

From Project Gutenberg

They tobogganed down hills without a brake at the imminent peril of their lives.

From Project Gutenberg

That caused me certain fevers, for as he died in the country outside this city in a garden his property was in great peril.

From Project Gutenberg

Lyn was no chicken-hearted weakling, to sit down and weep unavailingly in time of peril.

From Project Gutenberg

Madame Roland distinctly saw and deeply felt the peril to which she and her friends were exposed.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• hazard
• insecurity
• jeopardy
• menace
• pitfall
• uncertainty
• vulnerability