Synonyms of straits

straits

noun

plural of strait

as in distress

a state of great suffering of body or mind

in great straits over the loss of her mother's cherished necklace

Synonyms & Similar Words

• distress
• anguish
• agony
• pain
• sorrow
• misery
• sadness
• tribulation
• woe
• excruciation
• torment
• hurt
• torture
• rack
• travail
• affliction
• hardship
• discomfort
• cross
• emergency
• crucible
• unhappiness
• heartbreak
• heartache
• danger
• jeopardy
• difficulty
• ache
• joylessness
• pang
• trial
• pinch
• soreness
• trouble
• asperity
• rigor
• stitch
• twinge
• throe
• smarting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• relief
• consolation
• comfort
• solace
• ease
• security
• alleviation
• peace
• assuagement
• well-being

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun straits differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of straits are contingency, crisis, emergency, exigency, juncture, pinch, and strait. While all these words mean "a critical or crucial time or state of affairs," strait, now commonly straits, applies to a troublesome situation from which escape is extremely difficult.

in dire straits

When is contingency a more appropriate choice than straits?

The synonyms contingency and straits are sometimes interchangeable, but contingency implies an emergency or exigency that is regarded as possible but uncertain of occurrence.

contingency plans

In what contexts can crisis take the place of straits?

The meanings of crisis and straits largely overlap; however, crisis applies to a juncture whose outcome will make a decisive difference.

a crisis of confidence

When is it sensible to use emergency instead of straits?

In some situations, the words emergency and straits are roughly equivalent. However, emergency applies to a sudden unforeseen situation requiring prompt action to avoid disaster.

the presence of mind needed to deal with emergencies

When might exigency be a better fit than straits?

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

provide for exigencies

When can juncture be used instead of straits?

Although the words juncture and straits have much in common, juncture stresses the significant concurrence or convergence of events.

an important juncture in our country's history

How is pinch related to other words for straits?

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

come through in a pinch

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of straits

Ferry service in the winter, however, is dependent on ice coverage in the straits. —Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 1 Oct. 2025

Both capitals sit along the Skagerrak and Kattegat straits, home to busy shipping lanes which connect the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. —David Brennan, ABC News, 25 Sep. 2025

Enbridge refused to comply with the shutdown order and has taken the battle into the courts while continuing to send petroleum products through the pipeline across the straits. —Mike Shriberg, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2025

After a period of wild and mostly erratic spending under Farhad Moshiri’s ownership left them in dire financial straits, the club are trying to rebuild cautiously under the Friedkin Group. —Oliver Kay, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2025

Both countries' navies often use international straits off Japan's coastline for deployments to the wider Pacific. —Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025

Greg Daniels, who co-created all three shows, has said that the newsroom setting was attractive because newspapers play a vital democratic role but are in increasingly dire straits—zombified by unscrupulous owners who come in and cut the journalism to the bone. —Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2025

What’s more, the school itself appears to be in dire financial straits with a $200 million operating deficit — not exactly ideal conditions to buy out one of the fattest contracts in college sports. —Greg Beacham, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025

The system is also expected to account for existing defenses around key regions, notably in Ankara and along the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, while addressing new security requirements such as protecting the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. —Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2025