What does perilousness mean?
Perilousness is a formal noun meaning the quality of being dangerous or of presenting serious risk. It is especially useful when the focus is not on a single immediate threat but on the dangerous character of a situation, activity, or condition. A writer might speak of “the perilousness of the mountain road,” emphasizing the risks involved in travelling it, or describe “a growing sense of perilousness,” conveying an atmosphere of uncertainty and danger. The noun is less common in everyday speech than “danger,” “risk,” or “hazard,” but it can lend gravity and precision to literary or analytical prose. It also suits discussions of conditions whose hazardous qualities require sustained attention rather than describing one sudden peril. Its association with the established adjective “perilous” makes the meaning readily understandable, although its elevated register means that simpler synonyms will often be preferable in casual contexts.
nounThe quality or condition of being dangerous or involving serious risk. It denotes danger as a quality or condition.
- The quality or condition of being dangerous or involving serious risk.
"The doctor warned them about the perilousness of combining the two medications."
"The doctor warned them about the perilousness of combining the two medications."
"The sheer perilousness of the climb became clear when the path disappeared into the fog."
Rare. Perilousness is normally treated as an uncountable noun, and a plural is needed only when distinct instances or types of dangerousness are being discussed.
"The collection examines the different perilousnesses of life in the mountains."
Perilousness gives formal voice to the idea that a situation is not merely uncomfortable, but genuinely dangerous.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does perilousness come from?
Perilousness was formed in English by adding the noun-forming suffix “-ness” to “perilous.” The adjective “perilous” came through Old French from Latin perīculōsus, meaning “dangerous,” while “peril” descends from the related Latin word perīculum, meaning “danger” or “trial.” The English noun therefore expresses the quality or condition of being exposed to danger.
How perilousness is actually used
A formal and relatively uncommon noun, especially in contemporary English. It is often found in literary, academic, or expository writing and conveys a more sustained or abstract sense of danger than the everyday noun “danger.”
Easily confused with perilousness
Peril is the concrete danger or threat itself, whereas perilousness is the quality or condition of being dangerous.
Perilous is the adjective describing something involving danger, while perilousness is the noun naming that dangerous quality.