25 June 2015

precipitous

[pri-sip-i-tuh s]

adjective
1. of the nature of or characterized by precipices :
a precipitous wall of rock.
2. extremely or impassably steep:
precipitous mountain trails.
3. precipitate.

Origin of precipitous
obsolete French
1640-1650; < obsolete French précipiteux; see precipitate, -ous

Related forms
precipitously, adverb
precipitousness, noun
unprecipitous, adjective
unprecipitously, adverb
unprecipitousness, noun

Can be confused
precipitate, precipitous.

Synonyms
2. abrupt, sheer, perpendicular.

Antonyms
1, 2. flat, level.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for precipitous

– In 1965, despite the precipitous decline in the worker-to-retiree ratio, Social Security paid its bills with a 2.2% payroll tax.
(The Coming Retirement Burden Megan McArdle February 7, 2013)

– Negrial walked the precipitous path, down a steep hill littered with rubble and glass, to his house.
(Haiti Earthquake Anniversary: Finding a Skull in the Rubble Lisa Armstrong January 13, 2011)

– This sort of precipitous drop can reflect gyrations in the price of gas.
(How the Kings of Fracking Double-Crossed Their Way to Riches ProPublica March 12, 2014)

Anagram

spicier pout
precious tip

Today’s quote

We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.

– George Orwell

On this day

25 June 1903 – birth of George Orwell (born Eric Arthur Blair), Democratic Socialist and English author of works such as ‘Nineteen-Eighty Four‘, ‘Animal Farm‘, and ‘Homage to Catalonia‘. Died 21 January 1950.

25 June 1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is first published.

25 June 1978 – the Rainbow Flag, symbol of gay pride, is flown for the first time in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.