Jeopardise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To create a situation in which loss, harm, or failure could occur for someone or something crucial To place valuable elements in a state of potential danger or negative consequences To expose an important entity to the risk of adverse outcomes or threats
2. To cause a situation where something important is vulnerable to damage or failure
3. To expose a person, plan, or thing to the possibility of harm or negative consequences

Etymology: The verb "jeopardise" is simply "jeopardy" plus the verbal suffix "-ise", so its story is really the story of the suffix. That suffix travelled a long way. It began in ancient Greek as "-izein", which turned a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make into" or "to treat in a certain way". The Romans borrowed it as "-izare", and it passed into Middle French as "-iser", before English took it up in the Middle English period as "-isen". Pronunciation and spelling have been shifting ever since, which is why British spellings keep the "-ise" form while American ones often use "-ize". The noun it attaches to, "jeopardy", was borrowed from Old French "jeu parti", meaning "divided game", a term from chess problems where the outcome was uncertain. Early English uses carried the sense of a game of chance, and the sense of danger came later. So "jeopardise" describes the act of putting something into that uncertain, risky state.

Synonyms: endanger, threaten, risk, expose, hazard

Antonyms: protect, safeguard, shield, secure, preserve