Risk

/ɹɪsk/ · noun

Meaning

(uncountable) The probability of a negative outcome to a decision or event..

Definitions by Sense

1. (uncountable) The probability of a negative outcome to a decision or event.
2. (uncountable) The magnitude of possible loss consequent to a decision or event.
3. (uncountable, economics, business and engineering) The potential negative effect of an event, determined by multiplying the likelihood of the event occurring with its magnitude should it occur.
4. (countable) A possible adverse event or outcome.
5. (countable) A thing (from the perspective of how likely or unlikely it is to cause an adverse effect).
6. (transitive) To incur risk of (an unwanted or negative outcome).
7. (transitive) To incur risk of harming or jeopardizing.
8. (transitive) To incur risk as a result of (doing something).

Example Sentences

There is risk of being brutalized, arrested, imprisoned and tortured, all because I want you to know the truth about this matter.

2006, Trever Ramsey on BBC News website, Exercise 'cuts skin cancer risk' read at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4764535.stm on 14 May 2006

What crop(s) to plant, how much area to devote to each crop, and how much risk to take with respect to rainfall during the season are some of the decisions that must be made.

Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins. For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. Taking regular exercise, coupled with a healthy diet, reduced the risk of several types of cancer.

Becoming more aware of the progress that scientists have made on behavioral fronts can reduce the risk that other natural scientists will resort to mystical agential accounts when they exceed the limits of their own disciplinary training.

Will they find the prospect of greater risk a cause for concern, rather than a gift from the right?

The decision was also unlawful in disregarding the prospect of greater risk of sexual or physical abuse to girls at a co-educational residential school

SEAC acknowledged that their recommendation was a somewhat uneasy compromise between the desire to protect the public from a small chance of a big risk and the desire not to ruin an industry, probably unnecessarily.

Synonyms for risk

Antonyms for risk

Related Words

Word Forms

• risks
• risque
• risking
• risked

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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