Definition
Precarious describes a state that holds — for now — by permission of forces you do not control: the boulder balanced on the cliff edge, the family one paycheck from trouble, the ceasefire nobody expects to last. The Latin precarius meant 'obtained by begging', from prex, 'prayer': what is precarious is held on borrowed terms, revocable at any moment. The word's warning is precise — nothing has gone wrong yet, and 'yet' is doing all the work.
Examples
- The goats grazed on a precarious ledge halfway up the cliff face.
- Gig workers often live in a precarious financial position, one cancelled contract from crisis.
- The ceasefire remains precarious, tested a little further by each side every week.
Synonyms
unstable · insecure · shaky · perilous · tenuous
In TOEFL & IELTS
IELTS reading on work and society leans on the set phrase 'precarious employment' — sociologists have even coined 'the precariat'. TOEFL passages apply it to ecosystems, rock formations, and early settlements. In essays, 'a precarious balance/position' adds precision to any discussion of fragile situations. The noun 'precariousness' exists but is clumsy; the adjective is usually the better tool.