Hazardous
adjectiveRisky or dangerous, especially likely to cause harm or injury.
How to spell hazardous
9 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce hazardous
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does hazardous mean?
- adjectiveRisky or dangerous, especially likely to cause harm or injury.
Hazardous in a sentence
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The factory stores hazardous chemicals in a locked cabinet.
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Driving on the icy motorway proved extremely hazardous that morning.
Where does hazardous come from?
Language of origin: Arabic
The base word hazard came into English in the 1200s from the Old French hasard, the name of a dice game played for stakes. French had borrowed it, through Spanish, from the Arabic az-zahr, meaning 'the dice' (with az- being the Arabic article 'the' fused onto zahr). Because games of dice are governed by chance, the word drifted from naming a specific game to meaning 'risk' or 'danger' in general. The adjective hazardous was formed in English in the late 1500s by adding the Latin-derived suffix -ous, meaning 'full of', so it literally describes something full of risk. The single z, the -ard ending, and the -ous (not -ious) suffix are the spots where writers tend to stumble.
How the word is built
- hazard (risk, danger; from a dice game of chance)
- -ous (adjective suffix: full of, characterised by)
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