Meanings
comparative more perilously · superlative most perilously
- In a perilous manner.
A door flopped open, wobbling perilously on its one remaining hinge.
1988, Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, William Heinemann Ltd, page 901 more example
A rather interesting and notable convenience, however, is that of ice water bags, which are hung on to the outside of the coaches at certain stops. These can be reached by leaning out of the window rather perilously, to unhook them, and paper cups are stocked in the compartments.
1951 February, K. Westcott Jones, “Some Australian Railway Byways”, in Railway Magazine, page 118
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbin a dangerous manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishperilously
- Englishperilously
From Middle English perilously; equivalent to perilous + -ly.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian опасно, рисковано
- опасно (opasno)in a perilous manner
- рисковано (riskovano)in a perilous manner
Icelandic hættulega, háskalega
- hættulegain a perilous manner
- háskalegain a perilous manner
Cite this entry
perilously. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perilously
“perilously.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perilously. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “perilously,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perilously.
Source: perilously on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.