Gevaarlijk

Gevaarlijk is a Dutch adjective meaning “dangerous.” It is used to describe something that can cause harm, injury, or loss, or that poses a risk to health, safety, property, or the environment. The term appears in safety warnings, signs, and risk assessments, as well as in ordinary descriptions such as a dangerous street, dangerous machinery, or dangerous weather. The opposite of gevaarlijk is veilig, meaning safe or not dangerous.

Origins and cognates: the word is derived from the noun gevaar, meaning danger, and shares a common Germanic root with the German gefährlich and the English dangerous. In Dutch, gevaarlijk has been part of the language since the Middle Dutch period and has developed standard comparative and superlative forms.

Morphology and usage notes: the comparative form is gevaarlijker, and the superlative is typically het gevaarlijkste or de gevaarlijkste, depending on the grammatical gender and definiteness of the noun it modifies. The adverbial form is danger is not a separate form; in Dutch, the adjective often functions as an adverb as well, for example: Hij rijdt gevaarlijk. The term combines with nouns to denote hazards, such as gevaarlijke stoffen (hazardous substances), gevaarlijke beroepen (dangerous professions), and gevaarlijke situaties (dangerous situations).

See also: safety labeling, risk assessment, and related Dutch vocabulary for describing hazard and risk. The concept of gevaarlijk encompasses physical, chemical, and environmental dangers, as well as risks arising from human actions or unsafe conditions.