peril

¹per·il

noun \ˈper-əl, ˈpe-rəl\

Definition of PERIL

1

: exposure to the risk of being injured, destroyed, or lost : danger <fire put the city in peril>

2

: something that imperils or endangers : risk <lessen the perils of the streets>

Examples of PERIL

1. People are unaware of the peril these miners face each day.
2. She described global warming as “a growing peril.”
3. Just last week he issued a statement encouraging all Iraqis to participate in the election scheduled for January, and he called on the Iraqi government to start registering voters. The powers that be in Iraq ignore him at their peril. —Johanna McGeary, Time, 25 Oct. 2004
4. One lesson of both the law-school and the Paulin controversies may be the peril of making free-speech judgments at Internet speed. —Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2003
5. The old man rose and towered over Cameron, and then plunged down upon him, and clutched at his throat with terrible stifling hands. The harsh contact, the pain awakened Cameron to his peril before it was too late. —Zane Grey, Desert Gold, 1913

Origin of PERIL

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin periculum — more at fear

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to PERIL

Synonyms: hazard, imminence, menace, danger, pitfall, risk, threat, trouble

Antonyms: safeness, safety, secureness, security

Related Words: snare, trap; booby trap

Near Antonyms: guard, protection, safeguard, shield, ward; asylum, harbor, haven, refuge, retreat, shelter

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Rhymes with PERIL

beryl, feral, ferrule, ferule, Merrill, sterile