adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a precarious existence (= only just managing to live )
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The islanders, who rely solely on the sea to provide food, have a precarious existence.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
more
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Her existence is more precarious than most.
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Now that balancing act has become more precarious than ever.
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Charles's position was far more precarious .
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And his complex emotional relationship with Elizabeth, which I had but glimpsed, made the situation that much more precarious .
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The market system holds out opportunities for the peasant, but it also makes his situation more precarious .
■ NOUN
existence
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Harsh repression firmly put it down, outlaws taking as usual to a scattered and precarious existence in the Weald.
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Slowly the rhythm returned again and I eased my precarious existence up the river.
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In essence the surrealist quandary minors the avant-garde's precarious existence .
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On both sides some artists lived a precarious existence while their more successful colleagues lived well.
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For centuries, their descendants led a harsh and precarious existence , relying heavily on the sea to provide food.
position
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In some countries the drive for rugby excellence pushed student rugby into a precarious position .
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Alive, but in a very precarious position .
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The result was seen as having strengthened the somewhat precarious position of Prime Minster Toshiki Kaifu within the party.
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It was a long, tense moment as they adjusted the ropes and wrestled with the banner in their precarious position .
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The rigger was in the more precarious position .
state
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The next restoration project will be of the melodramatic pyramid memorial to Canova, which is in a dangerously precarious state .
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We find intelligence and life spooky because they maintain a precarious state far from equilibrium.
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The motor trade is still in a very precarious state , with many dealers just treading water and others going bust.
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In his precarious state he became a friend of Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan.
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In the 1700S, when science itself was new, most subjects were in this precarious state .
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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a precarious peace
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Are you sure he's safe on that ladder? It looks very precarious up there.
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His political position has become extremely precarious .
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Levin is in a precarious state of health.
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No one would lend money to a company in such a precarious position.
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The bottle was in a precarious position on the edge of the table.
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The typical peasant farmer has a precarious existence, at the mercy of flood, disease and famine.
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We had to cross a precarious rope bridge.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Grégoire was now hemmed in by the tiny precarious wine table.
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In his precarious state he became a friend of Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan.
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Mary Mara makes the volatile Ruth a mainspring of precarious tension, capable of a solitary three-way argument over a peanut-butter sandwich.
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The living conditions of many of these migrants in illegal squatter settlements is often precarious .
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The path down to the beach was a precarious one, tiny steps hewn out of the sheer rock face.
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The release of the individual from accountability lays a precarious basis for a new democratic political culture.