Noun

(en-noun)

(obsolete) A vast chasm or abyss.

The unordered state of matter in classical accounts of cosmogony

Any state of disorder, any confused or amorphous mixture or conglomeration.

*

(obsolete, rare) A given medium; a space in which something exists or lives; an environment.

*, II.ii.3:

What is the centre of the earth? is it pure element only, as Aristotle decrees, inhabited (as Paracelsus thinks) with creatures whose chaos is the earth: or with fairies, as the woods and waters (according to him) are with nymphs, or as the air with spirits?

(mathematics) Behaviour of iterative non-linear systems in which arbitrarily small variations in initial conditions become magnified over time.

(fantasy) One of the two metaphysical forces of the world in some fantasy settings, as opposed to law.

Noun

(en noun)

A possible, usually negative, outcome, e.g., a danger.

* Macaulay

the imminent and constant risk of assassination, a risk which has shaken very strong nerves

* 2006 , BBC News'' website, ''Farmers warned over skin cancer read at [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4764525.stm] on 14 May 2006

There was also a "degree of complacency" that the weather in the country was not good enough to present a health risk .

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=76, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= Snakes and ladders , passage=Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins. For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you.}}

The likelihood of a negative outcome.

* 2006', Trever Ramsey on ''BBC News'' website, ''Exercise 'cuts skin cancer '''risk' read at [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4764535.stm] on 14 May 2006

Taking regular exercise, coupled with a healthy diet, reduced the risk of several types of cancer.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-01, author=Stephen Ledoux, volume=100, issue=1, page=60

, magazine= , title= Behaviorism at 100 , passage=Becoming more aware of the progress that scientists have made on behavioral fronts can reduce the risk that other natural scientists will resort to mystical agential accounts when they exceed the limits of their own disciplinary training.}}

The potential (conventionally negative) should it occur.

* 2002', Decisioneering Inc website, ''What is '''risk ? read at [http://www.decisioneering.com/risk-analysis.html] on 14 May 2006

If there is a 25% chance of running over schedule, costing you a $100 out of your own pocket, that might be a risk' you are willing to take. But if you have a 5% chance of running overschedule, knowing that there is a $10,000 penalty, you might be less willing to take that ' risk .