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Definition
unsafe or unsure — especially in danger of falling- Her footing on the ladder looked precarious.
precarious = unsafe or unsure
- a precarious political situation
- She is in precarious health.
- the precarious life of an undersea diver
- As his tunnel grew deeper and wider, and more precarious, Stanley was able to feel latches on one end of the box,Louis Sachar -- Holes
- Three hundred yards from his hiding place he stopped where a huge dead tree leaned precariously on a smaller, living one.Richard Connell -- The Most Dangerous Game
- his father, prospering now, would have paid his way—for the precarious advantage of attending an older and more famous university in the East, where he was bothered by his scanty funds.F. Scott Fitzgerald -- Winter Dreams
- a precarious truce
- All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.Martin Luther King Jr.
- But the lives of gentlemen devoted to such pleasures as Richard Swiveller, are extremely precarious.Dickens, Charles -- The Old Curiosity Shop
- I find life precarious enough in my present humble situation.London, Jack -- The Sea Wolf
- Your mother is especially desirous that you should know nothing of the precarious condition of her health.Collins, Wilkie -- The Two Destinies
- Their natural good-will is probably heightened by a community of adventure and hardship in their precarious and wandering life.Irving, Washington -- Astoria or Anecdotes of an enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains
- One's safest course that day was to clasp a railing and hang on; walking was too precarious a pastime.Twain, Mark -- The Innocents Abroad
- Quickly Roy picked out one fish and, teetering precariously, plunged both hands into the current.Carl Hiassen -- Hoot
- At the top I eased myself precariously onto the closest rafter.Becca Fitzpatrick -- Hush, Hush
- Celaena leaned back in her seat and propped her feet on the table, balancing the chair precariously on its hind legs.Sarah J. Maas -- Throne of Glass
- And like a snowflake, they are very delicate and must be protected and guarded from elements that threaten to destroy their precarious balance.Jaycee Lee Dugard -- A Stolen Life
- The strained peace of this summit already teetered more precariously than an elephant on a tightrope.Stephenie Meyer -- Breaking Dawn
- The boat seemed frozen in the wrong direction, teetering precariously.Nicholas Sparks -- Message in a Bottle
precarious = unsafe
precariously = unsafely (in danger of falling)
precarious = unsure