From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishprecipitouspre‧cip‧i‧tous /prɪˈsɪpɪtəs/ adjective 1 very sudden a precipitous decline in stock prices2 DANGEROUSdangerously high or steep a precipitous path3 HURRY formal happening or done too quickly, and not thought about carefully a precipitous marriage —precipitously adverb
Examples from the Corpus
precipitous• More telling are the precipitous cost increases at state universities, which account for four out of every five college diplomas.• a precipitous decision• Much of the precipitous decline in return on equity was due to a rise in labor costs over those years.• The precipitous discharge of some young children, I think, was avoided.• a precipitous drop in property values• If a bear suddenly appears, the goats head for precipitous ledges where the less agile predator can not follow.• The precipitous nature of the slide is also noteworthy.• A precipitous path led down the cliff.• A few hundred steps down a gorge, then up the precipitous rock wall.• Looking back, the precipitous shreds of sheeting rain effectively sanctioned a cordon between himself and what had gone before.• There were no drainage ditches here, the shoulders too abrupt, the slope too precipitous, to collect water. 