parlous
English · Thesaurus
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parlous
- /ˈpɑːləs/ UK
- /ˈpɑɹləs/ US
Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)ləs
Where it comes from
From Middle English parles, parlous, perlous, [and other forms], a contraction of perilous (“dangerous; dreadful, terrible; morally corrupt, sinful, wicked; inauspicious, unlucky”) (and thus a doublet of perilous), from Old French perilleus, perillos, perillous, perilluse, perilleuse, perilleux (“very dangerous, perilous”) (modern French périlleux), from Latin perīculōsus (“dangerous, hazardous, perilous”), from perīculum (“danger, hazard, peril, risk”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through, carry forth, try”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’ forming adjectives).
adjective more parlous · most parlous
-
Attended with peril; dangerous, risky.
The situation became parlous when the weather made resupply impossible.
Similar: dangerous, dangersome, hazardous, hot, jeopardous, wicked, forbidding, parlous, periculous, perilous, precarious, risky
- Appalling, dire, terrible. in a parlous state
- Dangerously clever or cunning; also, remarkably good or unusual. A parlous Boy: go too, you are too ſhrew'd.
adverb
- Extremely, very. [L]ast week I had a distinctly unpleasant experience, and came parlous near qualifying as a beachcomber. [...] I cast round, trying one or two charming little hotels within reasonable radius, only to find the "house full" boards up everywhere.
Talk about this word "parlous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/parlous. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. parlous. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/parlous "parlous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/parlous.Cite this
@misc{parlous_2026,
title = {parlous},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/parlous},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
