perilously

[ per-uh-luhs-lee ]

adverb

1. in a way or to a degree that is full of grave risk or peril; dangerously:

   That lighthouse has always been perilously close to the ever-eroding cliffs.

Other Words From

• non·per·il·ous·ly adverb
• un·per·il·ous·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of perilously¹

perilous ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

That body blow moved the All Blacks 14-6 clear and the game already looked perilously close to slipping into southern hemisphere hands.

From BBC

Saturday night was payback time, with left-hander Alex Vesia throwing Treinen a life preserver after Treinen yielded a run, gave up two more singles and hit a batter and pushed his pitch count to 33 as the Dodgers moved perilously close to blowing a three-run lead in Game 2 of the World Series.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s no shortage of accessible documentation showing the 78-year-old’s slide from strategically unpredictable to perilously incoherent.

From Los Angeles Times

Particularly when the refusal to admit that stepchildren “count” is perilously close to the suggestion that “having children” means “having your own biological children.”

From Los Angeles Times

Her white blood cell count was critically high and her blood pressure perilously low — at one point, as Thurman got up to go to the bathroom, she fainted again and hit her head.

From Salon

Related Words

• alarmingly
• critically
• desperately
• precariously
• recklessly
• seriously
• severely