Precarious

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Precarious \Pre*ca"ri*ous\, a. [L. precarius obtained by begging
     or prayer, depending on request or on the will of another,
     fr. precari to pray, beg. See {Pray}.]
     1. Depending on the will or pleasure of another; held by
        courtesy; liable to be changed or lost at the pleasure of
        another; as, precarious privileges. --Addison.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Held by a doubtful tenure; depending on unknown causes or
        events; exposed to constant risk; not to be depended on
        for certainty or stability; uncertain; as, a precarious
        state of health; precarious fortunes. "Intervals of
        partial and precarious liberty." --Macaulay.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Uncertain; unsettled; unsteady; doubtful; dubious;
          equivocal.
  
     Usage: {Precarious}, {Uncertain}. Precarious in stronger than
            uncertain. Derived originally from the Latin precari,
            it first signified "granted to entreaty," and, hence,
            "wholly dependent on the will of another." Thus it
            came to express the highest species of uncertainty,
            and is applied to such things as depend wholly on
            future casualties.
            [1913 Webster] -- {Pre*ca"ri*ous*ly}, adv. --
            {Pre*ca"ri*ous*ness}, n.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  precarious
       adj 1: affording no ease or reassurance; "a precarious truce" [syn:
               {unstable}]
       2: fraught with danger; "dangerous waters"; "a parlous journey
          on stormy seas"; "a perilous voyage across the Atlantic in
          a small boat"; "the precarious life of an undersea diver";
          "dangerous surgery followed by a touch-and-go recovery"
          [syn: {parlous}, {perilous}, {touch-and-go}]
       3: dangerously insecure; "a precarious footing on the ladder"
       4: not secure; beset with difficulties; "a shaky marriage"
          [syn: {shaky}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  54 Moby Thesaurus words for "precarious":
     ambiguous, borderline, chancy, critical, dangerous, delicate,
     desultory, dicey, difficult, doubtful, dubious, equivocal, hairy,
     hazardous, iffy, indecisive, infirm, insecure, insubstantial,
     on slippery ground, on thin ice, open, perilous, problematic,
     provisional, questionable, risky, sensitive, shaky, shifting,
     shifty, slippery, slippy, temporary, tentative, ticklish,
     touch-and-go, touchy, treacherous, tricky, uncertain, undependable,
     unfaithworthy, unpredictable, unreliable, unsettled, unsolid,
     unsound, unstable, unsteadfast, unsteady, unsubstantial, unsure,
     untrustworthy