crisis

noun

cri·​sis ˈkrī-səs How to pronounce crisis (audio)
plural crises ˈkrī-ˌsēz How to pronounce crisis (audio)
1
a
: the turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or fever
b
: a paroxysmal attack of pain, distress, or disordered function
c
: an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person's life
a midlife crisis
2
: the decisive moment (as in a literary plot)
The crisis of the play occurs in Act 3.
3
a
: an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending
especially : one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome
a financial crisis
the nation's energy crisis
b
: a situation that has reached a critical phase
the environmental crisis
the unemployment crisis

Did you know?

Semantic Crisis Intervention

Some people are bothered by changes in a word’s meaning (see: literally), while others have a more relaxed attitude towards semantic drift. For those who feel vexed when a word seems to have suddenly changed its spots, it may be of some comfort to know that words in English do this all the time; crisis is a fine example. Originally, crisis denoted “the turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or fever.” Now it most commonly means “a difficult or dangerous situation that needs serious attention,” yet few people insist that it should be used exclusively in its older meaning. The normality of semantic change can be seen in another word that first appeared in febrile contexts: hectic, which now is primarily used to mean “very busy,” originally referred to a fever that was fluctuating but recurrent.

Choose the Right Synonym for crisis

juncture, exigency, emergency, contingency, pinch, strait (or straits) crisis mean a critical or crucial time or state of affairs.

juncture stresses the significant concurrence or convergence of events.

an important juncture in our country's history

exigency stresses the pressure of restrictions or urgency of demands created by a special situation.

provide for exigencies

emergency applies to a sudden unforeseen situation requiring prompt action to avoid disaster.

the presence of mind needed to deal with emergencies

contingency implies an emergency or exigency that is regarded as possible but uncertain of occurrence.

contingency plans

pinch implies urgency or pressure for action to a less intense degree than exigency or emergency.

come through in a pinch

strait, now commonly straits, applies to a troublesome situation from which escape is extremely difficult.

in dire straits

crisis applies to a juncture whose outcome will make a decisive difference.

a crisis of confidence

Examples of crisis in a Sentence

She was dealing with a family crisis at the time. Most people blame the government for the country's worsening economic crisis. last year's state budget crisis In times of national crisis, we need strong leaders we can trust. A year ago, both companies were in crisis.
Recent Examples on the Web Blocks away from the Oscars red carpet, several hundred protesters called for a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza, while winners used their speeches to decry the humanitarian crisis in that region as well as the one sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Jordan Moreau, Variety, 10 Mar. 2024 From within the maternal mortality crisis to diagnoses related to cardiovascular disease and cancer, Black families need to be aware of medical discrimination and protect themselves against it. Pamela Appea, Parents, 9 Mar. 2024 The 2010 earthquake left 220,000 people dead, but there was a national and international response to give Haitians a sense that the crisis was met with action, Le Cour said. Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024 But the housing project has struggled to take off, unable to fill its 600 units — most of which share bathrooms, kitchens and laundry facilities — despite the city’s worsening homelessness crisis. Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024 Almost every season, the state of refereeing seems to be in a crisis of one kind or another, as game-swinging calls are missed or botched. Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024 This is significantly less than the peak during the financial crisis, when the proportion hit 13%. Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 9 Mar. 2024 Biden’s immigration policy is already feeling the effects of the crisis. Michael Wilner, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 The Associated Press Germany has a commercial real estate crisis too German banks have more exposure to commercial real estate than their European peers, setting up a property crash that could hit the country’s smaller lenders. Peter Vanham, Fortune Europe, 27 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crisis.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English crise, crisis, borrowed from Latin crisis "judgment, critical stage," borrowed from Greek krísis "act of separating, decision, judgment, event, outcome, turning point, sudden change," from kri-, variant stem of krī́nein "to separate, choose, decide, judge" + -sis, suffix forming nouns of action or process — more at certain entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of crisis was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near crisis

Cite this Entry

“Crisis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crisis. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

crisis

noun
cri·​sis ˈkrī-səs How to pronounce crisis (audio)
plural crises ˈkrī-ˌsēz How to pronounce crisis (audio)
1
: the turning point for better or worse in a disease
2
: a turning point (as in a person's life or in the plot of a story)
3
a
: an unstable or difficult time or state of affairs
a financial crisis
b
: a situation that has become very serious

Medical Definition

crisis

noun
cri·​sis ˈkrī-səs How to pronounce crisis (audio)
plural crises -ˌsēz How to pronounce crisis (audio)
1
: the turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or fever
especially : a sudden turn for the better (as sudden abatement in severity of symptoms or abrupt drop in temperature) compare lysis sense 1
2
: a paroxysmal attack of pain, distress, or disordered function
tabetic crisis
cardiac crisis
3
: an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person's life
4
: a psychological or social condition characterized by unusual instability caused by excessive stress and either endangering or felt to endanger the continuity of an individual or group
especially : such a social condition requiring the transformation of cultural patterns and values

More from Merriam-Webster on crisis

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!