hazard 1 of 2

noun

ˈha-zərd How to pronounce hazard (audio)
Definition of hazardnext
1
as in threat
something that may cause injury or harm the tumbledown old barn was considered a fire hazard

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in luck
the uncertain course of events it was only by hazard and good fortune that we found our way back to the trail

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

hazard

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to endanger
to place in danger just so the tourists could see the sea lions up close, the captain needlessly hazarded his ship

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to risk
to take a chance on was unwilling to hazard landing the plane on the small island, which didn't even have an airfield

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hazard
Noun
An estate sale purchase in Austin, Texas, became a potential public safety hazard this week, when one patron's box of items was found to contain World War II-era explosives, police said. — Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026 For companies, congressional oversight usually creates legal and advisory costs, but adverse headlines are the greatest hazard, said attorneys and analysts. — Reuters, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026
Verb
When asked to predict demand for a product that doesn’t exist yet, AI will hazard a guess based on the past. — Garth Friesen, Forbes.com, 18 Mar. 2026 Clothes Iron and Steamer Many cruise lines have policies forbidding the use of clothes irons and steamers and won’t allow these fire hazards onboard. — Jill Schildhouse, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hazard
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hazard
  1. threat
  2. luck
  3. endanger
  4. risk
  5. danger
  6. chance
  7. threaten
  8. accident
Noun
  • In contrast to other Gulf monarchies, especially Saudi Arabia, Qatar sees no threat in the Muslim Brotherhood, the political movement that spawned Hamas.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
  • In other words, the biggest threats on the horizon might not be the Vatican or their local dioceses as much as time and money.
    — Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of threat
Noun
  • And, in the case of the continent’s richest man Aliko Dangote, the conflict has proven the old adage that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles star as the down-on-their-luck Dashwood sisters, who are forced to move from their fine family estate into the decidedly more modest Barton Cottage.
    — Nicholas DeRenzo, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of luck
Verb
  • After he was released from the hospital, 22-year-old Nicholas James Stedeford-Aaron was arrested and charged with driving while impaired, reckless driving to endanger and failure to move over for emergency vehicles with injury.
    — Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 10 Oct. 2026
  • One key objection was the mature tone of the narrative, in which the child protagonist is directly confronted and endangered by the evils derived from fascist ideologies.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of endanger
Verb
  • Yet in a culture that equates progress with perpetual acceleration, to pause is to risk obsolescence.
    — Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Mel Ismail, a 56-year-old father, was rescued by another surfer who just happened to show up at the beach and was willing to risk his own life by grabbing his board and heading towards the bloody water.
    — Sean Joseph OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of risk
Noun
  • The primary danger of these apps is not the fees associated with using just one, Feltner noted.
    — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Schools already rehearse fire drills and lockdown drills for dangers that are statistically rare.
    — Meng Yang, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of danger
Noun
  • Because the phenomenon typically reaches its greatest strength around December, NOAA says there’s a 75% chance that the current El Niño will exceed the strength of previous events dating back to at least 1950.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The strongest upper-level forcing will remain northwest of DFW, creating a sharp gradient in rain chances.
    — Michael Autovino, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of chance
Verb
  • The film has been praised as a dreamy exploration of the lines between justice and exploitation, even as its real-life subject Hansen has threatened action against the studio.
    — Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Racketeers blackmailed companies and executives, threatened to disrupt shareholder meetings, or intimidated other shareholders to keep quiet.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of threaten
Noun
  • She is accused of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and failing to stop and remain on scene of an accident involving death, the statement said.
    — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Major disruptions in game traffic were not anticipated by authorities because of the wide publicity that the accident had received.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of accident

Browse Nearby Words

haywire
hazard
hazarded
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hazard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hazard. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on hazard

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hazard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All