It may be hard to believe that jeopardize was once controversial, but in 1870 a grammarian called it "a foolish and intolerable word," a view shared by many 19th-century critics. The preferred word was jeopard, which first appeared in print in the 14th century. (The upstart jeopardize didn't arrive until the late 16th century.) In 1828, Noah Webster himself declared jeopardize to be "a modern word, used by respectable writers in America, but synonymous with jeopard, and therefore useless." Unfortunately for the champions of jeopard, jeopardize is now much more popular.
His health has been jeopardized by poor nutrition. don't do anything that will jeopardize your place on the advisory board
Recent Examples on the WebBiden spent much of the summer mulling over whether to act on student loan cancellations, with rampant inflation that has only just begun to slow appearing to jeopardize the plan. Gregory Svirnovskiy, The Arizona Republic, 25 Aug. 2022 During a review hearing earlier this week, a federal judge warned the department to remain dedicated to that effort even as rising bloodshed and a deepening manpower shortage threaten to jeopardize existing progress. Lea Skene, Baltimore Sun, 19 Aug. 2022 In one of the U.K.'s four constituent countries, Northern Ireland, EU law still largely reigns, because the EU refused to jeopardize Irish peace by erecting a hard border across the island of Ireland. The Week Staff, The Week, 31 July 2022 Casual snaps still have the potential to jeopardize your privacy.Wired, 26 July 2022 Sri Lanka has been in bailout talks with international lenders, but continuing political instability threatens to jeopardize that process. Hafeel Farisz, BostonGlobe.com, 11 July 2022 The country has been in bailout talks with international lenders, but continuing political instability threatens to jeopardize that process. Niha Masih, Washington Post, 9 July 2022 Seemingly, Apple the world’s richest company with the most valuable brand, can ill-afford to jeopardize security by partnering with a Chinese military supplier and the potential of compromised chips. Roslyn Layton, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2022 Riyadh seems hesitant to jeopardize its relations with Moscow by stabilizing the market, though. Rochelle Toplensky, WSJ, 21 Mar. 2022 See More