Definition of crisis
crises
play \ˈkrī-ˌsēz\1a : the turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or feverb : a paroxysmal attack of pain, distress, or disordered functionc : 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.
3a : 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 crisisb : a situation that has reached a critical phase the environmental crisis the unemployment crisis
Explore Merriam-Webster
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 of crisis from the web
-
Recall that more than 800 bankers went to jail after the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.
-
The Wall Street Journal had reported in September that the U.S. Justice Department proposed Deutsche Bank pay $14 billion to reach a settlement related to its dealings in mortgage securities ahead of the financial crisis.
-
Indonesia’s foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, said in a statement after the meeting that the latest crisis showed the importance of working together to fight piracy and kidnappings.
-
Of course, ten years is going to make a difference almost anywhere, but since I’d last been, Iceland has gone through a major financial crisis, an economic depression, a series of volcanic eruptions, and now, a major comeback.
-
In September, Los Angeles announced a state of emergency and a hundred-million-dollar budget to address the crisis.
-
Three years later, after reports emerged of a deadly poisoning of Tylenol capsules in Chicago-area stores, Johnson & Johnson’s reaction became the gold standard of corporate crisis response.
-
The recent documentary Our Brand Is Crisis inspected the America-grade marketing tactics behind the 2002 Bolivian presidential election.
-
Not surprisingly, the economic crisis has halted American mobility.
These example sentences are collected from online sources. Help us improve them by sending feedback.
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.
Origin and Etymology of crisis
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 1certain
First Known Use: 15th century
Synonym Discussion of crisis
CRISIS Defined for English Language Learners
crisis
playDefinition of crisis for English Language Learners
-
: a difficult or dangerous situation that needs serious attention
CRISIS Defined for Kids
crisis
playDefinition of crisis for Students
crises
\ˈkrī-ˌsēz\: a difficult or dangerous situation that needs serious attention a medical crisis
Medical Dictionary
crisis
playMedical Definition of crisis
crises
\-ˌsēz\play1: 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 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
Learn More about crisis
-
See words that rhyme with crisis Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for crisis Spanish Central: Translation of crisis Nglish: Translation of crisis for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of crisis for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about crisis
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up crisis? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!