parlous
/ˈpɑːləs
/adjective archaic or humorous
Full of danger or uncertainty; precarious: the parlous state of the economy the General’s position was parlous...
- We come in day after day, lament the parlous state of the telecoms industry and resolve on a regular basis to get new means of employment.
- The railways emerged in a parlous state, in dire need of a major overhaul.
- That is not a high level of income, but when one considers a number of other issues one finds that it is becoming even more difficult and parlous for people to live on it.
Synonyms
bad, dire, dreadful, awful, terrible, appalling, frightful, grave, serious, desperate, precarious, uncertain, touch-and-go, difficult, unsafe, perilous, dangerous, risky;
pitiful, wretched, sorry, poor, lamentable, woeful, hopeless
informal dicey, hairy, lousy
British informal dodgy, chronic
adverb archaic
Greatly or excessively: she is parlous handsome...
- Is the state of American political fiction really so parlous perilous?
Derivatives
parlously
parlousness
- In my submission, it is significant, because this document demonstrates that in practical terms this venture was in the same state of parlousness as was the venture considered in Jekos.
Origin
Late Middle English: contraction of perilous.