The Collaborative International Dictionary
Precarious \Pre*ca"ri*ous\, a. [L. precarius obtained by begging or prayer, depending on request or on the will of another, fr. precari to pray, beg. See Pray.]
Depending on the will or pleasure of another; held by courtesy; liable to be changed or lost at the pleasure of another; as, precarious privileges.
--Addison.-
Held by a doubtful tenure; depending on unknown causes or events; exposed to constant risk; not to be depended on for certainty or stability; uncertain; as, a precarious state of health; precarious fortunes. ``Intervals of partial and precarious liberty.''
--Macaulay.Syn: Uncertain; unsettled; unsteady; doubtful; dubious; equivocal.
Usage: Precarious, Uncertain. Precarious in stronger than uncertain. Derived originally from the Latin precari, it first signified ``granted to entreaty,'' and, hence, ``wholly dependent on the will of another.'' Thus it came to express the highest species of uncertainty, and is applied to such things as depend wholly on future casualties. [1913 Webster] -- Pre*ca"ri*ous*ly, adv. -- Pre*ca"ri*ous*ness, n.
Wiktionary
adv. In a precarious manner; dangerously
WordNet
adv. in a precarious manner; "being a precariously dominant minority is a difficult position for human nature to cope with"
Usage examples of "precariously".
Glen to hover precariously in midair, all the terrors of his acrophobia came flooding back.
As I went through my antemeridian routine, I discovered that I harbored the same mixed mood that had pervaded my weekend, and I can only describe it as being precariously happy.
Strung precariously over the third and steepest waterfall along the entire Bindadnay, this bridge also served as the official boundary marker between Benji territory and the Unghatti forest.
Stroking the head of his pet, which was precariously balanced on the rim of the steering-wheel, de la Mery ran his eye over the ship to ensure that all was in order.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Antoine de la Mery stroked the head of his pet mongoose, once more balanced precariously on the wheel, as he conned the prize into the bay.
I could see Montagnard longhouses clinging precariously to cleared ridgelines, and it struck me that two very different civilizations existed in the same space, but vertically to one another.
Sergie Morelli in her standard-fare tennis shoes and was now precariously teetering on black patent leather heels, which she said all babes wore.
The Nighter threw himself into every stride, swaying precariously on his weak leg.
Gondas were clustered in flotillas along either bank, filled and overfilled with masked and costumed figures, standing shapes balanced precariously against the chop where the two currents met.
The corns and bugs and other small items Ross sold them help these to gradually gain a measure of control over the explosion and when things settle down, to establish rather precariously something like a participatory democracy where every individual had some say in what the government does, something the other Gurn-sets watch with unease and in one case outright hostility.
For answer, Sark let his own hands ease from the box, which tilted precariously upon his knees.
She made her way over to the open screenless windows and saw that the white stucco cottage clung precariously to a barren hillside overlooking the sea.
And many of the stalactites are precariously perched, hanging by a thread.
Kearny Street, extending northward, makes giant strides on the precipitous climb of Telegraph Hill, where topply buildings cling precariously to the heights.
At first we thought that the basswood was going to break clear, but it finally hung precariously against the hemlock at a height of thirty feet or more above the bed of the brook.