How to Use precarious in a Sentence

precarious

adjective
  • The strong wind almost knocked him off of his precarious perch on the edge of the cliff.
  • He earned a precarious livelihood by gambling.
  • The dry spell comes at a precarious time for the state's canopy.
    Greg Stanley, Star Tribune, 26 June 2021
  • Big Sam then took them from the precarious lows of two points off ninth to the heady heights of eighth.
    SI.com, 16 May 2018
  • The top spot in the polls has been a precarious spot so far this season.
    Carlos Silva Jr., USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2019
  • The kitchens the food came from didn’t get less precarious to work in, if the restaurants stayed open at all.
    Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2021
  • For all of them, the stakes of precarious housing were high.
    Samantha M. Shapiro, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2022
  • Many of the ledges, rocks and cliffs are precarious and slippery.
    Andrea Reeves, The Enquirer, 16 May 2022
  • Even when the deal was struck, the Met’s finances were precarious.
    Michael Cooper, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2020
  • The weird thing about the stage set is Ringo’s [precarious] drum rostrum.
    Lucie Young, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2024
  • That was the most precarious and unpredictable vote in the process.
    Kevin Freking, ajc, 9 Dec. 2021
  • There’s a lot of front-of-house success, but the bones of my business right now are so precarious.
    Véronique Hyland, ELLE, 28 Mar. 2023
  • The somber findings marked the end of a dangerous search through the remnants of the precarious structure.
    Holly Yan, CNN, 5 June 2023
  • These five weeks are always the most precarious as the structure goes away for the players.
    Drew Davison, star-telegram, 14 June 2018
  • Cuba’s regime may be in the most precarious state of its 63 years in power.
    The Editorial Board, WSJ, 19 May 2022
  • This is a precarious time for his fourth album, Utopia, to land.
    Vulture, 2 Aug. 2023
  • The death of her son left Olympias in a precarious position.
    National Geographic, 3 Dec. 2019
  • That was such a precarious ruling—so easy to roll back.
    Josh Fischman, Scientific American, 10 May 2023
  • The magnitude of the problem, for gig workers alone, is a sign of how precarious these jobs are.
    Eoin O'Carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 June 2020
  • The new measures come as Italy faces its most precarious moment of the summer.
    BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2020
  • Selling to both sides in a time of war can be a precarious position.
    Dan Gallagher, WSJ, 16 May 2019
  • And even in places where schools remain open, plans feel precarious.
    Rachel Feintzeig, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2020
  • Stocks have yet to price in the economy’s precarious position, with the S&P 500 adding about 7% this year.
    Krystal Hur, CNN, 12 Apr. 2023
  • And to make the situation even more precarious, his third baby was on the way.
    Tricia Despres, PEOPLE.com, 14 Oct. 2021
  • If more sanctions are piled on top, things could get even more precarious.
    Michael A. Cohen, The New Republic, 8 Apr. 2022
  • This makes this work precarious and puts a strain on the little income that women make.
    Grace Natabaalo, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2022
  • The anger and confusion made clear just how precarious of a tightrope Mr. Biden is walking.
    Reid J. Epstein, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2023
  • The diss shows that Cole is in a precarious position, caught between two friends.
    Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
  • Those who have made it to Bangladesh are still in precarious circumstances.
    The Economist, 19 Oct. 2017
  • Timberlake is at a precarious point in a career that’s earned him the distinction of being crowned the Prince of Pop.
    Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'precarious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: