as in crises
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action
with only three minutes left in the game, it was definitely crunch time
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch times
Noun
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Her artwork often carries a strong political message, including criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and reflections on other crises in the Middle East.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025 -
Almost 20 years since Darfur became the epicenter of one of the most devastating humanitarian crises of the 21st century, the region is once again in the grip of violence.—
David Miliband,
Time,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The timing couldn’t have been better; my life was at a crossroads.—
Snigdha Poonam,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
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The war over which side gets to run the resource-rich nation that sits at the vital crossroads between North Africa, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea has not been happening in a vacuum.—
NPR,
NPR,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
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Curio’s process is a dry electrochemical and pyroprocessing system, using heat and chemical reactions to separate isotopes and fission products, thanks to the materials’ different boiling points and weights.—
John Koetsier,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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And a handful of standout horror films from around the ’70s, Johnson argues, specifically mirrored and even accelerated feminist flash points at a moment when public opinion regarding the roles and rights of women was wildly in flux.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
30 Oct. 2025
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Arrests are taking place all over the Chicago area, but some of the biggest flash points have occurred on the South and West Sides, which are home to many of the city’s largest Black and Latino communities.—
Geraldo Cadava,
New Yorker,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Eyes not on the sides of their heads, and a quick, macular gaze that isn’t like other animals’.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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His $193 million executive compensation, which turned the heads of unpaid moderators last year, included a $550,000 annual salary, with the rest tied up in stock.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
3 Nov. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Crunch times.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch%20times. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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