How to Use precarious in a Sentence

precarious

adjective
  • The strong wind almost knocked him off of his precarious perch on the edge of the cliff.
  • He earned a precarious livelihood by gambling.
  • The dry spell comes at a precarious time for the state's canopy.
    — Greg Stanley, Star Tribune, 26 June 2021
  • Their lives in those days had been precarious.
    — Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
  • All of it was a precarious dance.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 18 June 2026
  • The top spot in the polls has been a precarious spot so far this season.
    — Carlos Silva Jr., USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2019
  • At first, the whole thing was precarious.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 June 2026
  • But the strikes come at a precarious time for the region.
    — Zach Lachance, The Washington Examiner, 2 Mar. 2026
  • If more sanctions are piled on top, things could get even more precarious.
    — Michael A. Cohen, The New Republic, 8 Apr. 2022
  • Many of the ledges, rocks and cliffs are precarious and slippery.
    — Andrea Reeves, The Enquirer, 16 May 2022
  • And even in places where schools remain open, plans feel precarious.
    — Rachel Feintzeig, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2020
  • But even that has been precarious.
    — Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
  • It’s been precarious the whole time.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025
  • That is what makes drama such a precarious state.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
  • The right tone is at a very precarious place that could have so easily gone wrong.
    — Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Sep. 2024
  • The kitchens the food came from didn’t get less precarious to work in, if the restaurants stayed open at all.
    — Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2021
  • Big Sam then took them from the precarious lows of two points off ninth to the heady heights of eighth.
    — SI.com, 16 May 2018
  • This is a precarious time for his fourth album, Utopia, to land.
    — Vulture, 2 Aug. 2023
  • For all its glamour, the art world is a precarious ecosystem.
    — Magnus Resch, Robb Report, 26 Jan. 2025
  • All of those factors have led them to this precarious crossroads.
    — Vincent Z. Mercogliano, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
  • There’s a lot of front-of-house success, but the bones of my business right now are so precarious.
    — Véronique Hyland, ELLE, 28 Mar. 2023
  • That was the most precarious and unpredictable vote in the process.
    — Kevin Freking, ajc, 9 Dec. 2021
  • Even when the deal was struck, the Met’s finances were precarious.
    — Michael Cooper, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2020
  • The weird thing about the stage set is Ringo’s [precarious] drum rostrum.
    — Lucie Young, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2024
  • Selling to both sides in a time of war can be a precarious position.
    — Dan Gallagher, WSJ, 16 May 2019
  • Yet, the announcement couldn't have come at a more precarious time.
    — Rodney Carmichael, NPR, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Farke’s rhetoric on the subject is treading a precarious line, too.
    — Beren Cross, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
  • This makes this work precarious and puts a strain on the little income that women make.
    — Grace Natabaalo, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2022
  • These five weeks are always the most precarious as the structure goes away for the players.
    — Drew Davison, star-telegram, 14 June 2018
  • But to many, there appears to be a lethargy that is out of place with the club’s precarious predicament.
    — Rob Tanner, The Athletic, 19 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'precarious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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