precarious
pre·ca·ri·ous/pɹɪˈkɛəɹi.əs/adjective
precarious is spelled P-R-E-C-A-R-I-O-U-S: 10 letters and 4 syllables (pre·ca·ri·ous). It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, precarious means “Dangerously insecure or unstable; perilous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in precarious?
| Letters | 10: P-R-E-C-A-R-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: pre·ca·ri·ous |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,356th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is precarious?
Precarious appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce precarious?
- US /pɹɪˈkɛəɹi.əs/
Precarious has 4 syllables, split pre·ca·ri·ous in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-precarious.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with precarious?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as precarious from its last stressed vowel (/ɛəɹiəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of precarious
- more precarious comparative
- most precarious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does precarious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Dangerously insecure or unstable; perilous.
- 2
Depending on the intention of another.
- 3
Relating to incipient caries.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Precarious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense dangerously insecure or unstable; perilous:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | précaire |
| German | heikel, schwierig, unsicher, prekär, schlimm, bedrohlich |
| Portuguese | precário |
| Spanish | precario, precípite |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does precarious come from?
From Latin precārius (“begged for, obtained by entreaty”), from prex, precis (“prayer”). Compare French précaire, Portuguese precário, and Spanish and Italian precario.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).