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

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 The inspector general said the texts raised questions about whether Mr. Strzok permitted political bias to cloud his judgment during one critical juncture in the investigation. — Sadie Gurman, WSJ, "DOJ Clinton Report Blasts Comey, Agents, but Finds No Bias in Conclusion," 15 June 2018 Shaw agreed that Elgin is at a critical juncture right now and while the decision will be Kozal’s, his choice for Swoboda’s successor would be Cmdr. — Mike Danahey, Elgin Courier-News, "Elgin City Council divided on need for outside search for next police chief," 15 June 2018 Farrell’s reappointments to the board, Joe Marshall and Sonia Melara, were seen by some, including Cohen, as lacking the strong vision and leadership skills needed to help steer the Police Department at such a critical juncture. — Dominic Fracassa, San Francisco Chronicle, "SF supervisors nominate two attorneys to serve on city’s Police Commission," 24 May 2018 Trump stands at a key juncture in defining his national security policy. — Noah Bierman, latimes.com, "Trump talks tough. But after 15 months, he's been risk averse when it comes to use of military force," 29 Apr. 2018 During the game's most critical juncture, Hill was on the court with Clarkson, Nance, Green, and Love. — Joe Vardon, cleveland.com, "LeBron James, Tyronn Lue found what Cavaliers need to keep advancing in playoffs," 29 Apr. 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.