How to Use precariously in a Sentence
precariously
adverb-
The house was partially submerged, parts of it fell away and the rest was left precariously perched on the edge of a hill.
—Eleonore Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 20 Feb. 2023
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The Buckeyes held that spot — somewhat precariously — for the first eight weeks of the season.
—Nathan Baird, cleveland, 31 May 2021
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Each lives, precariously, with the secrets of those months in the wilderness.
—Sara Stewart, CNN, 8 Jan. 2022
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The ceiling is as high as ever for the group, but the floor also seems precariously low.
—Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2022
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The channel of the Golden Gate is narrow, precariously so for the large container ships, some more than a quarter-mile long, that move among the major ports in the Bay.
—John Branch, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2022
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My biggest complaint is with the precariously thin and bendy neck, which could be improved.
—Medea Giordano, Wired, 13 July 2022
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This lady had balanced a carton of eggs very precariously on the edge of the conveyor belt.
—John Kelly, Washington Post, 6 Sep. 2022
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The baron glanced up from his newspaper and saw a man on a motor scooter zigzagging precariously in front of the Peugeot.
—Tom Sancton, Town & Country, 31 Mar. 2022
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The duo upped the ante for their audition act, climbing two long, wobbly poles, and standing precariously close to the judges' table.
—Charles Trepany, USA TODAY, 3 Aug. 2022
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Above the stairs, two pieces of plaster, each about three by twelve feet, hung precariously from the ceiling; two white pendant lights, still connected to the wiring above, hung down from each of them.
—Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2023
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Peter then lands on some scaffolding, places MJ down rather precariously, and takes a call from Ned.
—Jacob Siegal, BGR, 10 Dec. 2021
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In this wacky activity, the plastic noodles are piled across the bowl with the yeti figure precariously placed on top.
—Cheryl Fenton, Parents, 27 Oct. 2023
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Wright, who still lives precariously close to homelessness, has seen one bright spot.
—Elaine Ayala, San Antonio Express-News, 13 Feb. 2021
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Right before Alvarez launched his home run into the right-field seats, the fan was filmed with his finger precariously near his nostril.
—Michael Shapiro, Chron, 11 Oct. 2022
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Banana trees were snapped in half and cows lay dead in green pastures with homes made of tin and plywood tilting precariously nearby.
—Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 2 July 2024
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But there’s nothing less relaxing than precariously placing your wine on the narrow edge of a tub, or on the floor beside the shower.
—Olivia Muenter, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2024
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Diners rush to take photos while a pad of butter precariously slides across the top pancake before slipping over the edge.
—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2023
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The boys were born prematurely, precariously, at four pounds apiece in a hospital that didn’t have food for them.
—Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2022
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A bit of water that was sloshing precariously in Mr. Roscian’s glass spilled out.
—Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2024
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Can Jackson help pull our democracy, teetering precariously at the edge of a cliff of hate, fear, and division, back from the brink?
—Maya Wiley, The New Republic, 7 Oct. 2022
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But the Torre de David, in its unfinished state, still stands — albeit precariously.
—Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2024
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The risk of war on the European continent also lifted safe-havens gold and the dollar, and pushed Brent crude precariously close to $100 per barrel.
—Bernhard Warner, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2022
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One of his friends compares his not-so-humble abode, which includes a menagerie of glass sculptures teetering precariously in the living room, to the Tate Modern.
—Esther Zuckerman, WSJ, 29 Nov. 2022
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There were some caveats, though; records stuck precariously out of the unit and, as noted by SlashGear, the player needed to sit on a flat surface during operation.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 1 Nov. 2022
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Balanced precariously on the stone ledge below are a chayote (or choko), a cantaloupe and a cucumber.
—Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2023
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The most potent sign of the quake is a 10-story red-brick tower in the city center, leaning precariously at a 45-degree angle after its ground floor collapsed.
—Wayne Chang, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
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Many live precariously for long periods before an unexpected change upsets the balance of their lives: a death in the family, the loss of a job, a new child.
—New York Times, 2 Feb. 2022
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The two-way phenom has slumped at the plate, his batting average dipping precariously close to .200, and Maddon is asked daily by reporters when Ohtani will take a day off.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2022
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On Friday, April 19, Case, hunched into a sphere, balanced a steel ball bearing precariously on a toylike scoop.
—Rachel Lance, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
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On Saturday, the converted warehouse where the two precariously reside will host a rave.
—Jeremy Atherton Lin, Washington Post, 4 July 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'precariously.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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