LIFE-OR-DEATH Synonyms: 22 Similar and Opposite Words

life-and-death

adjective

variants also life-or-death

Definition of life-and-death

as in crucial

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 life-and-death And despite efforts to educate the public on what to do on a day of severe weather, people still sometimes make common mistakes when faced with a possible life-and-death situation. — Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman, 1 Apr. 2026 The drumline loops and VST strings would be over-the-top if the performance weren’t so impassioned, the stakes not literally life-and-death. — Hannah Jocelyn, Pitchfork, 30 Mar. 2026 Certainly not the life-and-death stakes. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 20 Mar. 2026 The stakes of slow action on pedestrian and cyclist safety are life-and-death. — Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 16 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for life-and-death

Recent Examples of Synonyms for life-and-death

Adjective

Both are well in the hunt for the World Cup’s Golden Boot award, having scored crucial winning goals for their countries almost every step of the way.

— Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 11 July 2026
The pieces of it that Weiden shares with us, including a passage about Native athletes’ crucial role in the early history of the sport of football, are eye-opening.

— Chris Hewitt, Boston Herald, 10 July 2026

Definition of crucial

Adjective

Saibari scored in each of Morocco’s three group games and struck the decisive penalty in the shootout win over the Netherlands.

— Joe Murphy, NBC news, 9 July 2026
Veterinarians are trained to be decisive and efficient, and the instinct in a tense moment is almost always to reach for a fix the moment a client shows distress.

— Kwame Christian Esq, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

Definition of decisive

Adjective

Meantime, earnings forecasts have soared, largely but not exclusively on the back of the AI-equipment bottleneck, providing plenty of fundamental cover for the tape.

— Michael Santoli, CNBC, 7 July 2026
All of these detention facilities have in common a fundamental disregard for our health and well-being.

— Brady Tillett, Twin Cities, 7 July 2026

Definition of fundamental

Adjective

Infrastructure In infrastructure, the analysts said investors should look at companies that own critical networks such as grids, pipelines, fiber networks and transport assets that are difficult to replicate.

— Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 8 July 2026
Women comprise 35% of US STEM employees, yet retention, not attraction, is the primary challenge, with women leaving at higher rates and companies losing critical knowledge.

— Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

Definition of critical

Adjective

Ukraine, meantime, has also recently ramped up missile and drone attacks against key infrastructure deep inside Russian territory, including oil refineries, ports and military factories.

— Helen Regan, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
Verbeek also has lost four key defensemen — captain Radko Gudas, Jacob Trouba, John Carlson and Olen Zellweger — in the past month while adding only journeyman Nick Jensen as a probable replacement.

— Greg Beacham, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026

Definition of key

Adjective

Attacks on ships — and the threat of them — virtually halted traffic in the waterway during the conflict, causing the price of oil to skyrocket and raising prices on many basic goods, including food, far beyond the region.

— Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
If your bathroom has a basic flush mount, don’t be afraid to replace it with something more eye-catching, like a sputnik chandelier or a lantern pendant.

— Marisa Suzanne Martin, The Spruce, 8 July 2026

Definition of basic

Adjective

Defense experts and strategists have described its drone campaign as pivotal in helping to stall Russia’s military momentum, while also warning that Kyiv’s deep-strike successes have drastically raised the risk of escalation.

— Katie Foley, CNBC, 10 July 2026
Go behind the scenes with Forbes Under 30 founders, creators and musicians—and the investors and mentors who backed them—to hear the real stories, lessons and pivotal moments behind building something that lasts.

— Alexandra York, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Definition of pivotal

Browse Nearby Words

life

life-and-death

lifeblood

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Life-and-death.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/life-and-death. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of life-and-death

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

fulcrum

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes