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precipitous

pre·ci·pi·tous

UK/pɹɪˈsɪpɪtəs/ US/prɪˈsɪpɪtʌs/ uncommon

adjective

1.

done with very great haste and without due deliberation

  • “hasty marriage seldom proveth well” Shakespeare
  • “hasty makeshifts take the place of planning” Arthur Geddes
  • “rejected what was regarded as an overhasty plan for reconversion”
  • “wondered whether they had been rather precipitate in deposing the king”
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2.

characterized by precipices

  • “a precipitous bluff”
Similar
3.

extremely steep

  • “an abrupt canyon”
  • “the precipitous rapids of the upper river”
  • “the precipitous hills of Chinese paintings”
  • “a sharp drop”
Synonyms
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Origin

From obsolete French précipiteux, from Vulgar Latin *praecipitōsus, from praeceps, praecipit- (“ precipice”) + -ōsus (“-ful, -ous”), from prae- (“before”) + caput (“head”). Equivalent to precipice (“steep cliff, brink”) + -ous.

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Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.