Synonym Chooser

How does the noun juncture differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of juncture are contingency, crisis, emergency, exigency, pinch, straits, and strait. While all these words 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

In what contexts can contingency take the place of juncture?

While the synonyms contingency and juncture are close in meaning, contingency implies an emergency or exigency that is regarded as possible but uncertain of occurrence.

contingency plans

Where would crisis be a reasonable alternative to juncture?

Although the words crisis and juncture have much in common, crisis applies to a juncture whose outcome will make a decisive difference.

a crisis of confidence

When might emergency be a better fit than juncture?

The words emergency and juncture are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, emergency applies to a sudden unforeseen situation requiring prompt action to avoid disaster.

the presence of mind needed to deal with emergencies

When would exigency be a good substitute for juncture?

While in some cases nearly identical to juncture, exigency stresses the pressure of restrictions or urgency of demands created by a special situation.

provide for exigencies

How does the word pinch relate to other synonyms for juncture?

Pinch implies urgency or pressure for action to a less intense degree than exigency or emergency.

come through in a pinch

How are the words strait and straits related as synonyms of juncture?

Strait, now commonly straits, applies to a troublesome situation from which escape is extremely difficult.

in dire straits

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 juncture There's something so deeply satisfying about winnowing a huge capital ship down to its smallest components, finding critical welds and junctures, and melting them apart with your heat laser. Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025 Toney’s two touchdown scores came at crucial junctures in the game. Andre Fernandez, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025 Again, these students get hired at the juncture of their fields or in one or the other of their two fields. Laura Isensee, Scientific American, 25 Sep. 2025 Low, ominous bass riffs giving way to a distorted wail of electric guitar signaled that this was the juncture in American history when the gloves came off and the real ass-kicking began. Seth Harp, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for juncture
Recent Examples of Synonyms for juncture
Noun
  • This last point is stressed through Kizzi’s simmering competitiveness.
    Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2025
  • The 49ers were poised to answer with their first points, but the Falcons’ Kaden Ellis intercepted a Jones pass that Jauan Jennings bobbled at the Falcons’ 18.
    Cam Inman, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Canal supporters identified the break in the Appalachian Mountains at the junction of the Mohawk River and the Hudson as a propitious place to dig a channel to Lake Erie.
    Christine Keiner, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Crossing a saddle into Sterling Canyon, the trail ends at the junction with Vultee Arch Trail.
    Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The revelation immediately erupted into a political crisis, with the head of prisons dismissed and Guatemalans threatening to protest.
    New York Times, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • By August, Ars reported on cases where ChatGPT's sycophantic behavior had validated users' false beliefs to the point of causing mental health crises, and news of the aforementioned suicide lawsuit hit not long after.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Officials say there were no survivors inside the facility, depriving investigators of crucial eyewitness accounts of the final moments leading up to the explosion.
    Isabel Rosales, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Scott’s $40 million donation arrives at a critical moment.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • On the intersection corner where crowds were dense, Tom Angelo, 64, played his red accordion as a background track to the chaotic protest.
    Stephanie Murray, AZCentral.com, 18 Oct. 2025
  • According to Reuters, 58 reports describe Teslas blowing through red lights, drifting into the wrong lanes and even crashing at intersections.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Keith Pelley has had four months now to get a closer glimpse of the day-to-day operations of the Toronto Maple Leafs via close interactions with general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube.
    Pierre LeBrun, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • But Netflix head Bela Bajaria didn’t seem into it.
    Bethy Squires, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • No matter what situation arises, the player knows how to solve it.
    Joe Boylan, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Finally, enforcement can put an unnecessary policing burden on teachers or administrators, especially in situations in which a student’s gender identity is not immediately apparent from their appearance.
    Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Reichardt emphasizes the extremity of the action with a strikingly novel form of cinematic narrative that, in a more ordinary drama, might feel like a facile evasion.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Still others bore amputations after diabetes complications led to peripheral neuropathy, a condition that blunts sensation in the extremities.
    Carrie Arnold, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Juncture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/juncture. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

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