precipitous (adj) - acting with great haste and little deliberation; very steep, sheer, or abrupt [pri-sip-i-tuhs]
BREAKDOWN: PRE- (before) + CIPIT- (head) + -OUS (full of)
a precipice is a steep cliff; the brink of a perilous situation
See also: capitulate
“We ride too high on deceptive notions of power and security and control and then when it all comes crashing down on us the low is made deeper by the high. By its precipitousness, but also by the humiliation you feel for having failed to see the plummet coming.” ―Lisa Halliday