Definition of JUNCTURE

Choose the Right Synonym for juncture

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

Did You Know?

Juncture has many relatives in English - and some of them are easy to spot, whereas others are not so obvious. Juncture derives from the Latin verb jungere (to join), which gave us not only join and junction but also conjugal (relating to marriage) and junta (a group of persons controlling a government). Jungere also has distant etymological connections to joust, jugular, juxtapose, yoga and yoke. The use of juncture in English dates back to the 14th century. Originally, the word meant "a place where two or more things are joined," but by the 17th century it could also be used of an important point in time or of a stage in a process or activity.

Examples of juncture in a Sentence

Negotiations between the countries reached a critical juncture. At this juncture it looks like they are going to get a divorce. the juncture of two rivers

Recent Examples on the Web

Boeing and Embraer are uniting at a tense juncture for major players in international trade, as the Trump administration edges toward a trade war with governments in Europe, Canada and Asia. — New York Times, "Boeing Takes On Bombardier and Airbus With Embraer Deal," 5 July 2018 The first account Riley followed was that of LeBron James, at a juncture more than a season after the forward joined the Heat from the Cleveland Cavaliers during 2010 free agency. — Ira Winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Inside the stealth (but not burner) Twitter account of Pat Riley," 24 June 2018 Based on real-life characters, Brooks’ well-balanced, politically fraught work gauges Middle Eastern extremism at a historic juncture. — F. Kathleen Foley, latimes.com, "The 99-Seat Beat: An immersive stage adaptation of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'," 25 May 2018 Last: 4 Stats: 21.0 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 61.4% FG The lottery results hit Memphis the hardest, dropping them two spots at a key juncture for the franchise following a down year. — Jeremy Woo, SI.com, "2018 NBA Mock Draft 7.1: Projecting All 60 Picks Post-Combine," 21 May 2018 At the present juncture, a surefire way to alienate the groups a Republican nominee needs would be to ignore their heartfelt demands for Supreme Court nominees. — Charles Cameron, Vox, "The litmus test for a Supreme Court nominee," 5 July 2018 That crucial early juncture altered the course of things, though. — Howard Fendrich, BostonGlobe.com, "Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem reach French Open final," 8 June 2018 Pieced together, records disclosed over four years of criminal proceedings tell a story of mistakes made at every juncture — by police, coroners and pathologists. — Krista Stevens, Longreads, "How to (Almost) Get Away With Murder," 20 Apr. 2018 With his team coming off an injury-marred 4-8 season that ended with an embarrassing 66-3 home loss to Penn State, Durkin is at a critical juncture in his first head coaching job. — Don Markus, baltimoresun.com, "Five of the biggest challenges facing new Maryland athletic director Damon Evans," 28 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'juncture.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.