perilous Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective satellite fraught with danger
    touch-and-go; precarious; parlous.
    • 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

WordNet

Per"il*ous adjective
Etymology
OF. perillous, perilleus, F. périlleux, L. periculosus. See Peril.
Definitions
  1. Full of, attended with, or involving, peril; dangerous; hazardous; as, a perilous undertaking.
    Infamous hills, and sandy, perilous wilds. Milton.
  2. Daring; reckless; dangerous. Obs. Latimer.
    For I am perilous with knife in hand. Chaucer.
    -- Per"il*ous*ly, adv. -- Per"il*ous*ness, n.

Webster 1913