SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
precipitous
adjective
In action, excessively hasty; also very steep.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Excessively hasty
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topFor actions, precipitous implies too much speed and too little consideration. Hurried need not carry that criticism.
Very steep
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topFor terrain or a decline, precipitous concerns steepness. Vertiginous describes dizzying height, and dramatic describes impact rather than slope.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See precipitous in use
A precipitous decision to cancel the event left no time to consider alternatives.
A precipitous hillside rose beside the travelers' camp in the adventure story, its extremely steep face making the chosen setting look far more severe than the valley below.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license