peril

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈpɛrəl/ UK /ˈpɛrəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
serious and immediate danger; to imperil

The sailors faced great peril in the towering waves.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · serious and immediate... danger hazard jeopardy risk menace threat endanger

Opposites

safety security

Word family

Forms perilledunperilous

Derived forms perilousperilously

Related forms perilous imperil experience expert

Simplified etymology

Peril entered Middle English through Old French from Latin periculum “danger, experiment.” The Latin word is related to experiri “to try,” linking the idea of danger with that of putting something to the test.

Etymology

From Old French peril, from Latin periculum ('danger, trial'), from the root of experiri ('to try'), related to Greek peira ('trial, attempt').

periculum Latin *per- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# peril

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɛrəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɛrəl/

## Meanings
1. serious and immediate danger; to imperil

## Examples
- The sailors faced great peril in the towering waves.

## Synonyms
- danger
- hazard
- jeopardy
- risk
- menace
- threat
- endanger

## Antonyms
- safety
- security

## Derived Forms
- perilous
- perilously

## Related Forms
- perilous
- imperil
- experience
- expert

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: periculum
- Root: *per-

## Etymology
From Old French peril, from Latin periculum ('danger, trial'), from the root of experiri ('to try'), related to Greek peira ('trial, attempt').

## AI Etymology
Peril is from Old French peril, from Latin periculum ('danger, trial'), from the root of experiri ('to try'), related to Greek peira ('trial, attempt'). In present-day use, it means serious and immediate danger; to imperil. Derived formations include perilous and perilously. Related vocabulary includes perilous, imperil, experience, and expert.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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