BREAKING POINTS Synonyms: 44 Similar Words

breaking points

noun

plural of breaking point

as in crises

a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action tensions between the two nations had risen to the breaking point

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of breaking points This time around, traders often cite the booming (and opaque) private credit market and AI datacenter plans funded too much by debt — some of it off balance sheet — as likely breaking points. — Sean Conlon, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking points

Noun

Latif, a hitman who’s also a father of three and a practicing Muslim, faces compounding crises when his wife dies, leaving him with a newborn who can’t tolerate formula.

— The Week US, TheWeek, 13 Oct. 2026
With a system immune to currency crises, stability was established in Ecuador, and while stability might not be everything, everything is nothing without stability.

— Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of crises

Noun

Related Stories The growing muscle that YouTube flexes as the video crossroads of the world was a near-constant subject of conversation.

— Leo Barraclough, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Critics see a once-lively multiethnic crossroads suffocated by Chinese authoritarianism.

— David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of crossroads

Noun

The intense temperature and pressure of the impact heated the moon's crust and mantle so much that many of the volatile elements present (volatiles are elements with low boiling points), including potassium, evaporated and escaped into space.

— Keith Cooper, Space.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Thermodynamics drives selective recovery The researchers hypothesized that FJH combined with chlorine gas could exploit differences in Gibbs free energy and boiling points to selectively remove non-REE elements from magnet waste.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2025

Definition of boiling points

Noun

The left, of course, took this completely out of context because most things fly over their heads, and instead viewed it as Sweeney somehow demeaning women's sports.

— Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
What is the probability of getting exactly three heads and three tails?

— Dana Mackenzie, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of heads

Noun

The number of geopolitical flash points would multiply as governments rushed to grab their share of the oceans and protect their claims through force.

— Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026
The dispute over the route became one of the defining flash points of the conflict in Northern Ireland.

— Amanda Ferguson Reuters, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of flash points

Browse Nearby Words

breaking point

breaking points

breaking the law

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Breaking points.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20points. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of breaking points

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

fervid

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes