| Main Entry: | crucial |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | critical, important |
Synonyms: |
acute, central, clamorous, climacteric, climatic, compelling, deciding, decisive, desperate, dire, essential, hanging by thread, high-priority, imperative, insistent, momentous, necessary, on thin ice, pivotal, pressing, searching, showdown, touch and go, touchy, urgent, vital |
| Notes: | the words crucial, essential, and vital cannot be qualified (cannot be more or less...) |
Antonyms: |
inessential, trivial, uncritical, unimportant |
| Main Entry: | dangerous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hazardous, troubling |
Synonyms: |
alarming, bad, breakneck, chancy, critical, dangersome, deadly, delicate, dynamite, exposed, fatal, formidable, hairy*, heavy*, hot*, impending, impregnable, insecure, jeopardous, loaded, malignant, menacing, mortal, nasty, on collision course, parlous, perilous, portentous, precarious, pressing, queasy, risky, serious, serpentine, shaky, speculative, terrible, thorny, threatening, ticklish, touch-and-go, touchy, treacherous, ugly*, unhealthy, unsafe, unstable, urgent, viperous, vulnerable, wicked |
Antonyms: |
careful, guarded, safe, secure, unhazardous, untroubled |
| Main Entry: | debatable |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | controversial |
Synonyms: |
arguable, between rock and hard place, between sixes and sevens, betwixt and between, bone of contention, borderline, chancy, contestable, disputable, doubtful, dubious, iffy, in dispute, moot, mootable, open to question, problematic, problematical, questionable, the jury's out, touch and go, uncertain, undecided, unsettled, up for discussion |
Antonyms: |
certain, inarguable, incontrovertible, indubious, questionable, sure, uncontestable, undoubted |
| Main Entry: | doubtful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | questionable, unclear |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, borderline, chancy, clouded, contingent, debatable, dicey, disreputable, doubtable, dubious, dubitable, equivocal, far-fetched, fat chance, fishy, hazardous, hazy, iffy, impugnable, inconclusive, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, insecure, long shot, obscure, on thin ice, open, pending, precarious, problematic, shady, sneaky*, speculative, suspect, suspicious, touch-and-go, touchy, uncertain, unconfirmed, undecided, uneasy, unsettled, unstable, unsure, up for grabs |
Antonyms: |
certain, clear, confirmed, decided, definite, exact, resolved, settled, unquestionable |
| Main Entry: | dubious |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | doubtful |
Synonyms: |
arguable, chancy, debatable, diffident, disputable, dubitable, equivocal, far-fetched, fishy, fly-by-night, hesitant, iffy, improbable, indecisive, moot, mootable, open, perplexed, problematic, questionable, reluctant, shady, skeptical, suspect, suspicious, touch and go, trustless, unassured, uncertain, unclear, unconvinced, undecided, undependable, unlikely, unreliable, unsure, untrustworthy, untrusty, wavering |
Antonyms: |
certain, definite, doubtless, positive, reliable, sure, trustworthy, trusty, undoubtful |
| Main Entry: | insecure |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | uncertain, worried |
Synonyms: |
Delphic, afraid, anxious, apprehensive, choked, diffident, hanging by thread, hesitant, jumpy, on thin ice, questioning, shaky, touch and go, touchy*, troubled, unassured, unconfident, unpoised, unsure, up in the air, uptight*, vague |
Antonyms: |
certain, confident, secure, sure |
| Main Entry: | perilous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | dangerous |
Synonyms: |
Russian roulette, chancy, delicate, dicey, dynamite, exposed, hairy*, hazardous, insecure, loaded, on thin ice, playing with fire, precarious, risky, rugged, shaky, threatening, ticklish, touch and go, touchy, treacherous, uncertain, unhealthy, unsafe, unsound, unstable, unsteady, unsure, vulnerable, wicked* |
Antonyms: |
ok, safe, secure |
| Main Entry: | precarious |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | tricky, doubtful |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, borderline, chancy, contingent, dangerous, delicate, dicey, dubious, dynamite, equivocal, hairy*, hanging by a thread, hazardous, iffy, impugnable, indecisive, insecure, loaded, on thin ice, open, out on a limb, perilous, problematic, risky, rocky, rugged*, sensitive, shaky, slippery, ticklish, touch and go, touchy, uncertain, unhealthy, unreliable, unsafe, unsettled, unstable, unsteady, unsure |
Antonyms: |
certain, definite, firm, stable, strong, sure, undoubted |
| Main Entry: | risky |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | dangerous |
Synonyms: |
chancy, delicate, dicey, endangered, fraught with danger, going for broke, hairy*, hanging by a thread, hazardous, iffy, insecure, jeopardous, long shot, not a prayer, off the deep end, on slippery ground, on the spot, on thin ice, out on a limb, perilous, playing with fire, precarious, rocky, sensitive, speculative, ticklish, touch-and-go, touchy, treacherous, tricky, uncertain, unhealthy, unsafe, unsound, venturesome, wicked, wide-open |
Antonyms: |
assured, certain, safe, sure |
| Main Entry: | tricky |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | complicated, difficult |
Synonyms: |
catchy, complex, critical, delicate, intricate, involved, knotty, perplexing, precarious, problematic, quirky, risky, rocky, sensitive, sticky, thorny, ticklish, touch-and-go, touchy, undependable, unstable |
Antonyms: |
easy, uncomplicated |