Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Language: Latin
Origin: precarius 'got by asking, uncertain'

precarious

 adjective
     
pre‧car‧i‧ous
1 a precarious situation or state is one which may very easily or quickly become worse:
Her health remained precarious, despite the treatment.
the company's precarious financial position
2 likely to fall, or likely to cause someone to fall:
a precarious mountain trail
—precariously adverb:
a cup of tea balanced precariously on her knee
—precariousness noun [uncountable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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