- sword of Damocles
- Usage: often capitalized S Date: 1820 an impending disaster
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
sword of Damocles
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sword of Damocles — sword of Dam|o|cles [ ,sɔrd əv dæməkliz ] noun singular LITERARY something that is always present as a danger or threat to a person, place, or situation: The nuclear sword of Damocles hangs over the region by a thread … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
sword of Damocles — UK [ˌsɔː(r)d əv ˈdæməkliːz] / US [ˌsɔrd əv ˈdæməklɪz] noun [singular] literary something that is always present as a danger or a threat to a person, place, or situation The nuclear sword of Damocles hangs over the region by a thread … English dictionary
sword of Damocles — noun a constant and imminent peril the possibility hangs over their heads like the sword of Damocles • Hypernyms: ↑hazard, ↑jeopardy, ↑peril, ↑risk, ↑endangerment … Useful english dictionary
sword of Damocles — sword′ of Dam′ocles n. cvb any situation threatening imminent harm or disaster • Etymology: 1810–20 … From formal English to slang
sword of Damocles — [ daməkli:z] noun a precarious situation. Origin with ref. to Damocles, a courtier who praised the happiness of the Greek ruler Dionysius I so much that the king made him feast sitting under a sword suspended by a single hair to show him how… … English new terms dictionary
sword of Damocles. — See Damocles (def. 2). [1810 20] * * * … Universalium
sword of Damocles — noun an immediate threat or danger, especially in otherwise favourable circumstances. {from the Greek legend of Damocles} …
sword of Damocles. — See Damocles (def. 2). [1810 20] … Useful english dictionary
sword of Damocles — noun A thing or situation which causes a prolonged state of impending doom or misfortune … Wiktionary
sword of Damocles — Synonyms and related words: bulldozing, chanciness, commination, criticalness, delicacy, denunciation, doubtfulness, dubiousness, empty threat, foreboding, hazardousness, idle threat, imminence, implied threat, insecurity, instability,… … Moby Thesaurus
