hazardous, a.
(ˈhæzədəs)
[f. as prec. + -ous. Cf. F. hasardeux, 16th c. in Littré.]
1. Of the nature of the game of hazard; dependent on chance; casual, fortuitous.
| 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. xii. 47 b, The adventure therof on the one side and the other was very hazardous and variable. 1653 H. More Antid. Ath. ii. ix. (1712) 66 In other Generations that are more hazardous. 1791 Burke App. Whigs Wks. VI. 257 They may indeed stop short of some hazardous and ambiguous excellence. 1816 Singer Hist. Cards i. 9 Hazardous betting or playing for stakes. 1880 Libr. Univ. Knowl. (N.Y.) IV. 285 Hazardous contracts, in which the performance depends upon some uncertain future event. |
† 2. Addicted to risks; venturesome. Obs.
| 1580 Sidney Arcadia iii. (1590) 323 Who was in the disposition of his nature hazzardous. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 769 Hazardous Mariners. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxiv. 129 Too hazardous in engaging the publique stock into a long, or costly war. |
3. Fraught with hazard or risk; perilous; risky.
hazardous insurance, an insurance effected at a high premium, on a life, building, etc. exposed to more than average risks. hazardous occupation table, an actuarial table showing the probability of life in trades or professions the members of which are exposed to more than average risks.
| 1618 Bolton Florus i. xvii. (1636) 51 A most hazzardous War. 1671 Milton P.R. iii. 228 The enterprize so hazardous and high. 1783 Watson Philip III (1839) 47 The most hazardous enterprise in which he had ever been engaged. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. v. 419 To attempt to analyse the motives of a double-minded man is always a hazardous experiment. |