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
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking points
Noun
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But the war is also having a less visible, yet potentially more consequential, impact on some of the world’s other conflicts and crises.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026 -
The Biden administration extended TPS for Haiti several times because of economic, health and political crises in the wake of the assassination of its president in 2021.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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During a period of intense change across fashion and footwear, many women leaders are at a crossroads.—
Katie Abel,
Footwear News,
4 May 2026
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And those numbers, combined with Spoelstra’s love/hate relationship with the Adebayo/Ware tandem and his appreciation for undersized lineups, has created difficult questions that must be sorted out during a crossroads offseason for the Heat.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
4 May 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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Jokanovic had collected 14 kills by the time the third set had ended, and one of them grazed the top of two Ball State defenders’ heads before hitting the court for the set-winner in the third frame.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
10 May 2026
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Several talking heads mention Magyar’s temper.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
Noun
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Despite the focus on the Middle East, the leaders took up major regional flash points, including the South China Sea territorial disputes involving Beijing, a five-year civil war in Myanmar and a recent border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.—
Jim Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
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But more potential flash points loom.—
JILL LAWLESS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Breaking points.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20points. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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