treacherous

CEFRB2

/ˈtɹɛt͡ʃəɹəs/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
adjective
Dangerous because something may change or cannot be trusted.
02
adjective
Extra detail
Deceitful; inclined to betray.

Examples

Drive carefully! Those are treacherous roads up there.
Treacherous fire, bring relief to my torment.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses: 4
Parts of speech: 1
Citations: 5
Synonyms: 5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

Unreliable; dangerous.
Exhibiting treachery.

More examples

In context

Wet logs make for treacherous footing.
a treacherous mountain trail
Work on the muskeg resulted in the formation in the first instance, and later in lengths of newly-laid track disappearing without trace into the treacherous bog.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The path through the mountains was blank because of hidden ice and sharp rocks.

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Nearby

Citations

The word in print, with each source given in full.

I see the wife misused by her husband, I see the treacherous seducer of young women, / I mark the ranklings of jealousy and unrequited love attempted to be hid […]
1855, Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
Work on the muskeg resulted in the formation in the first instance, and later in lengths of newly-laid track disappearing without trace into the treacherous bog.
1959 March 26, “New Railways in Quebec”, in Railway Magazine, page 202
[…] they stood in the region of perpetual snow, amidst the glittering, treacherous glaciers and crevasses, with vast slippery-pathed precipices yawning round.
2002, Charles Morris, The San Francisco Calamity
There are many treacherous paths leading toward history’s realms of darkness, but when it comes to routes hacked out by imperialist powers in the Congo, we really do seem near darkness’s heart.
2009 March 30, Edward Rothstein, “Casting a Sliver of Light on the Heart of Darkness”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 27 Jul 2020
It is standard practice for search and rescue authorities to ask other vessels in the area to assist. Usually, this is done. The weather on the night of 31 December was too atrocious, and when at 11pm the Coast Guard asked the crabber Ruff & Reddy to head to the scene, its skipper refused, as a skipper has a right to do if he believes conditions to be too treacherous.
2025 October 21, Rose George, “‘I knew in my head we were dying’: the last voyage of the Scandies Rose”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 18 Dec 2025

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Origin

adjective

From Old French trecheros, tricheros (“deceitful”), equivalent to treacher + -ous. See treacher.

Deep Dive

adjective

More examples

Related

Quick test

The path through the mountains was blank— because of hidden ice and sharp rocks.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

The path through the mountains was blank because of hidden ice and sharp rocks.