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.

geological

cliff

Vertical rock wall

  • edgeBoundary or sharpness
  • brinkCritical boundary point
  • cragSteep rugged outcrop

escarpment · bluff · overhang · chasm · gorge · abyss · ravine · canyon · rockface · sheer

metaphorical

brink

Critical boundary point

cusp · danger · collapse · disaster · ruin · downfall · crisis · peril · abyss · catastrophe

emotional

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

Categories
Opposites
terrain steepness

precipicesgentle slopes

Gradual changes in elevation

plains · flatlands · plateaus · level ground · meadows

elevation safety

precipicesfirm ground

Stable, unyielding surface

stable footing · solid ground · protected areas

elevation position

precipiceschasms

Deep narrow clefts

abysses · depths · gorges · ravines · canyons

Family

precipice

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G