Modifies a noun

• state: There are many reasons for the parlous state of the NHS today.

• situation: The parlous situation can hardly be blamed on teachers.

• condition: Its chief focus has been the parlous condition of our national identity.

• position: It's a game that Reading should win, but despite the Rams parlous position it will not be an easy game.

• finance: Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest, both recently Premiership contemporaries of the Wombles, have equally parlous finances.

• plight: We condemned it in our 1983 report, but stopped short of making a recommendation because of the then parlous plight of the industry.

Used with adjective complement

• look: The Lebanon situation looks parlous despite an apparent ceasefire.