precipitous
adj/pɹɪˈsɪpɪtəs/
Etymology 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.
1
Steep, like a precipice
- a precipitous cliff
- a precipitous mountain
4 more examples
- a precipitous decline
- a precipitous drop
- About this time our journey began to be pleasant again. The weather warm, yet not disagreeably so, the grass abundant and of an excellent quality, the road not greatly precipitous, the scenery enchanting.1861, E. J. Guerin, Mountain Charley, page 34:
- When the wind is in the right direction, hang-gliders launch themselves giddily into space from the precipitous bank.1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 102:
2
Headlong
- a precipitous fall
3
Hasty; rash; quick; sudden
- precipitous attempts
- […]humans have been responsible for a precipitous decline of elephants, from perhaps 300,000 in the early 1970s to some 10,000 today.2007 March, J. Michael Fay, “Ivory Wars: Last Stand in Zakouma”, in National Geographic, page 46:
- Synonyms
- brant, steepdown, steep-to, headlong, precipitant, heedless, hotheaded, impetuous, abrupt, subitaneous
- Derived terms
- precipitously, precipitousness