precipices
Edges of chasms
Precipices is the plural of precipice, a very steep or overhanging rock face—a cliff edge from which one might fall.
The word appears most often in figurative contexts describing dangerous thresholds: The company stood on the precipice of bankruptcy.
Standing on a precipice suggests imminent disaster or a point of no return.
Vertical rock wall
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
- brinkCritical boundary point
- cragSteep rugged outcrop
- escarpmentSteep slope dividing elevations
bluff · overhang · chasm · gorge · abyss · ravine · canyon · rockface
cliff
Vertical rock wall
escarpment · bluff · overhang · chasm · gorge · abyss · ravine · canyon · rockface · sheer
brink
Critical boundary point
cusp · danger · collapse · disaster · ruin · downfall · crisis · peril · abyss · catastrophe
despair
Total absence of hope
- breakdownFailure or decomposition
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- fearEmotional response to threat
dread · vertigo · panic · terror · paralysis · vulnerability · fragility · instability · turmoil · anguish
- rocky terraincliffs, boulders, scree, outcrops, rockfall
- slopesslope, incline, slopes, inclines, grade
- scenic overlooksoverlooks, viewpoints, vista points, observation decks, lookouts
- coastal geologycliffs, sea cliffs, coastal cliffs, limestone cliffs, chalk cliffs
- trail featurestrail, trailhead, trail map, trail maps, trail sign
precipicesgentle slopes
Gradual changes in elevation
plains · flatlands · plateaus · level ground · meadows