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imperil

UK/ɪmˈpɛɹəl/US/ɪmˈpɛɹəl/
verbC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,182 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: imperiled, imperilled, imperiling, imperils, imperilling

To imperil is to put something in danger. Imperil the whole project.

It is formal and takes an abstract object more often than a person. To imperil something is stronger than to risk it, since the danger is already present.

Definitions of imperil

  1. 1verbimperilTo put something in danger.C2

    “One more delay would imperil the funding altogether.”

imperil is an endangering.

Where it comes from

From im- + peril.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

imperil in the wild

  • Marriott, was that: No private interest was to be permitted to obstruct the service, or imperil the safety, of the State.

    Minister of Munitions

  • Buchanan argues that Western culture will soon be imperiled.

    The Death of the West

  • One of Timm's policies was that airlines should make a 12% return on investment and his CAB would not permit fare reductions that could imperil that standard.

    Robert D. Timm

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.