Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Involving risk or danger: Describes something that is dangerous or involves the possibility of harm, loss, or failure.
   • Dependent on chance: Describes something that is risky or uncertain in outcome.

Usage and Examples

• General Use: The adjective "hazardous" is used to modify nouns, describing situations, activities, substances, or conditions that are dangerous.
  • Handling these chemicals without proper protection is hazardous.
  • The mountain road becomes hazardous during winter storms.
• With Prepositions: It is commonly followed by "to" when specifying what is at risk.
  • Smoking is hazardous to your health.
  • The spill created conditions hazardous to marine life.

Advanced Usage

• "hazardous to one's health/well-being": A formal phrase indicating something is dangerous for a person's physical or mental state.
  • Prolonged stress can be hazardous to one's well-being.
• In regulatory or official contexts (e.g., safety, environment, law), "hazardous" is a technical term.
  • The factory must dispose of hazardous waste according to strict guidelines.
  • The EPA classified the material as a hazardous substance.

Variants and Related Words

• Hazard (n/v): The noun form refers to a danger or risk. The verb means to venture or offer a guess.
• Hazardously (adv): In a dangerous or risky manner.
  • He drove hazardously through the fog.
• Hazardousness (n): The state or quality of being hazardous (less common).

Synonyms

• Dangerous: Likely to cause harm or injury.
• Risky: Involving the possibility of something bad happening.
• Perilous: Full of danger or risk (more literary).
• Unsafe: Not safe; dangerous.

Antonyms

• Safe: Protected from or not exposed to danger.
• Secure: Fixed or fastened so as not to give way, become loose, or be lost; safe.
• Harmless: Not able or likely to cause harm.

Related Phrases and Collocations

• Hazardous materials (Hazmat): A specific term for substances that pose risks to health, safety, or property.
• Hazardous duty: Work that involves significant physical risk, often with special compensation.
• Hazardous weather conditions: Official terminology for dangerous weather like blizzards or hurricanes.

Adjective

1. involving risk or danger
   • skydiving is a hazardous sport
   • extremely risky going out in the tide and fog
   • a wild financial scheme