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also life-or-death
as in crucial
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Recent Examples of life-and-death
Leon Rose watched in the first round of the playoffs as his team played a life-and-death series with a young and inexperienced Pistons team, one that felt as if both teams had match points in every single game.
—
Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 2 May 2025
Hamm will play Fred Heckman, a beloved radio reporter who finds himself in the middle of a life-and-death situation when a man named Tony Kiritsis takes a hostage and then demands airtime on Heckman’s show.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2025
Its real subject, however, is how people respond when they’re faced with life-and-death choices in desperate situations—something even more relevant two decades later.
—Heather Hansman, The Atlantic, 22 Apr. 2025
And in this case, the scope of the season’s main subject, and the life-and-death nature of it, makes Nathan’s personality feel more beside the point than usual.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for life-and-death
Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 2 May 2025
Hamm will play Fred Heckman, a beloved radio reporter who finds himself in the middle of a life-and-death situation when a man named Tony Kiritsis takes a hostage and then demands airtime on Heckman’s show.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2025
Its real subject, however, is how people respond when they’re faced with life-and-death choices in desperate situations—something even more relevant two decades later.
—Heather Hansman, The Atlantic, 22 Apr. 2025
And in this case, the scope of the season’s main subject, and the life-and-death nature of it, makes Nathan’s personality feel more beside the point than usual.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for life-and-death
Recent Examples of Synonyms for life-and-death
Adjective
-
Both aspects are a crucial part of the Superman story.—
True Tamplin,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
-
In a crucial leadership change last September, Starbucks appointed Molly Liu, former chief of Starbucks China's digital division, to head its business in the country.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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February 2025 Queen of Swords: February’s energy is pushing you to set clear boundaries and make decisive moves, especially in your financial or professional life this month.—
Meghan Rose,
Glamour,
1 July 2025
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The decisive sequence started off with Martínez bearing down on Freese, his teammate at New York City FC, throwing him off with a wink before placing a cool kick as Freese dove the wrong way.—
Jeff Rueter,
New York Times,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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Character is fundamental to leadership; without it, leadership is a position without moral conviction.—
John Baldoni,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2025
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How stress and screen time change your breath Breathing is one of the body’s most fundamental movement patterns — occurring on average more than 23,000 times a day — and the diaphragm’s contractions play a key role.—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
4 July 2025
Adjective
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This figure has already surpassed the 1,274 cases recorded during the peak year of 2019, marking a critical public health milestone reached just halfway through 2025.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 July 2025
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From there, the first-year MLS club made two critical defensive errors.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 July 2025
Adjective
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Those were key questions Friday night during the mostly crowd-pleasing 2025 Happy Together Tour performance at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 July 2025
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Whether or not the agency could maintain the independence necessary to be seen as legitimate emerged as a key concern during Friday’s board meeting.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
12 July 2025
Adjective
-
The petals of flowers will change depending on how basic or acidic the soil is.—
Dr. Nick Goltz,
Hartford Courant,
5 July 2025
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Sophisticated mathematical models coexist with surprisingly basic tools.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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This is the first of a six-part series looking at figures who have played a pivotal role in a modern football success story.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
3 July 2025
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Understanding the gravity of a red flag warning and adhering to these precautions is pivotal in reducing the risk of wildfires during these hazardous conditions.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
3 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Life-and-death.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/life-and-death. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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