peril

1 of 2

noun

per·​il ˈper-əl How to pronounce peril (audio)
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 How to pronounce peril (audio)
ˈpe-rəl
periled also perilled; periling also perilling

transitive verb

: to expose to danger

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
Experts and police leaders have long acknowledged the perils of pursuits. Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024 The mission of one of NASA's twin Voyager space probes has been in peril for months as the space agency has been unable to receive usable data from the craft launched 46 years ago to explore the far reaches of the cosmos. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2024 Ye does something to infuriate a large group of people which puts his career in peril. Angel Diaz, Billboard, 14 Mar. 2024 The filmmakers keep dog peril on the sidelines, at least until the third act when Arthur’s wounds grow dire. Courtney Howard, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024 None of that prevented his arrest, exposing the perils of operating a private business on the island. Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 The investigation in Arizona could present another layer of legal peril for Republicans in this politically competitive state, which Trump lost by about 11,000 votes in 2020. Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Josh Dawsey The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 8 Mar. 2024 The internet amplifies the messaging of nefarious groups and can often put others in peril. Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Aid workers argue that the incident underscores the perils of Israel trying to organize aid deliveries rather than relying on the United Nations and other more experienced partners. Claire Parker, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024

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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of peril was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near peril

Cite this Entry

“Peril.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peril. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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 How to pronounce peril (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on peril

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