to be in a parlous state
1parlous state — index peril Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …
2parlous — was described by Fowler (1926) as ‘a word that wise men leave alone’, and the current edition (2006) of the Concise Oxford Dictionary marks it as ‘archaic or humorous’. This is a sad fate for a long serving word, originally formed as a variant of …
3parlous — [[t]pɑ͟ː(r)ləs[/t]] ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n If something is in a parlous state, it is in a bad or dangerous condition. [FORMAL] ...the parlous state of our economy. Syn: dire …
4parlous — 1. adjective a) Attended with peril; dangerous; risky. The situation became parlous when the weather made resupply impossible. b) Dire, terrible, appalling. Those manning the facility were in a parlous s …
5parlous — adjective Etymology: Middle English, alteration of perilous Date: 14th century 1. obsolete dangerously shrewd or cunning 2. full of danger or risk ; hazardous < the parlous state of the country > • parlously adverb …
6parlous — par|lous [ˈpa:ləs US ˈpa:r ] adj formal [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: perilous] in a very bad or dangerous condition ▪ The country s police force was in a parlous state in 1990 …
7parlous — par|lous [ parləs ] adjective VERY FORMAL full of dangers or difficulties: There is a general belief that the arts are in a parlous state …
8parlous — [ pα:ləs] adjective archaic or humorous full of uncertainty; precarious: the parlous state of the economy. Derivatives parlously adverb parlousness noun Origin ME: contr. of perilous (see peril) …
9parlous — adjective formal in a very bad or dangerous condition: the parlous state of the country …
10parlous — UK [ˈpɑː(r)ləs] / US [ˈpɑrləs] adjective very formal full of dangers or difficulties There is a general belief that the arts are in a parlous state …