peril

1 of 2

noun

per·​il ˈper-əl 

ˈpe-rəl

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

peril

2 of 2

verb

per·​il ˈper-əl 

ˈpe-rəl

periled also perilled; periling also perilling

transitive verb

: to expose to danger

Synonyms

Noun

• danger
• hazard
• imminence
• menace
• pitfall
• risk
• threat
• trouble

Verb

• adventure
• compromise
• endanger
• gamble (with)
• hazard
• imperil
• jeopard
• jeopardize
• menace
• risk
• venture

Examples of peril in a Sentence

Noun

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

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

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

People are unaware of the peril these miners face each day.

She described global warming as “a growing peril.”

Verb

… she did more harm than all Frederick's diplomacy could repair, and perilled her chance of her inheritance like a giddy heedless creature as she was. —William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, 1848

a tribute to the men and women who, as firefighters, peril their lives daily

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

However, many of them now see too many perils to dive back in. —Greg McKenna, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2024

After Truman’s landslide victory, he was photographed holding up the mistaken front page in what would become an iconic reminder of the frailty of polls and the perils of calling an election before a majority of the ballots had been counted. —Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024

And yes, there is perhaps some irony in the fact that the man who was once Dirty Harry has now made a movie about the perils of rushing to judgment. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024

The incident provides a stark reminder of the political perils that Biden’s comments can have, especially in a campaign environment that has been as fraught and closely contested as this one. —Nik Popli, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Latin perīculum "test, trial, risk, danger," going back to *perei-tlom, from *perei- (of uncertain origin) + *-tlom, instrumental suffix (going back to Indo-European)

Note: Latin perīculum has traditionally been explained as a derivative from a proposed Indo-European verbal base *per- "test, risk," seen also in perītus "practiced, experienced," experior, experīrī "to put to the test, attempt, have experience of, undergo" (see experience entry 1) and opperior, opperīrī "to wait, wait for"; these have been compared with Greek peîra "trial, attempt, experience," peiráomai, peirâsthai "to make a trial of, attempt," émpeiros "experienced" (see empiric)—going back to *per-i̯a—and more tentatively with Germanic *fērō "pursuit, danger" (see fear entry 2). This *per- "test, risk" is then taken further as a semantic derivative of *per- "cross, pass" (see fare entry 1). Alternatively, if the formative -i- represents the Indo-European present-tense suffix *-ei̯-/-i-, Latin peri-/perī- in these words fits naturally with Indo-European *perh₃-/pr̥h₃- "bring forth, give rise to, produce" (if taken as a middle verb "give rise to within oneself, experience, undergo"), with *pr̥h₃-i- yielding Latin pariō, parere "to give birth to" (see parturient entry 1) and *perh₃-ei̯- yielding the per-ī- of perīculum, etc. It is unclear if the base of experior and opperior contains par- or per-, as the simplex verb is not attested. (Cf. Michiel de Vaan, "PIE i-presents, s-presents, and their reflexes in Latin," Glotta, Band 87 [2011], pp. 23-36.)

Verb

derivative of peril entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1567, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing peril

• at one's own peril
• at one's peril
• yellow peril

Kids Definition

peril

noun

per·​il

ˈper-əl

1

: the state of being in danger of injury, loss, or destruction

2

: something that presents immediate danger

perils of the highway

Legal Definition

peril

noun

per·​il ˈper-əl 

1

: exposure to the risk of death, destruction, or loss

2

: the cause of a loss (as of property)

insured their home against fire, floods, and other perils

compare risk