crisis

Definitions

1. A crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point.
2. attack; fit
3. A crucial or decisive point or situation, especially a difficult or unstable situation involving an impending change.
4. An unstable situation, in political, social, economic or military affairs, especially one involving an impending abrupt change.
5. A sudden change in the course of a disease or fever, toward either improvement or deterioration.
6. A sudden change in the course of a disease, usually at which point the patient is expected to either recover or die.
7. An emotionally stressful event or traumatic change in a person's life.
8. A traumatic or stressful change in a person's life.
9. A point in a story or drama when a conflict reaches its highest tension and must be resolved.
10. A point in a drama at which a conflict reaches a peak before being resolved.
11. a crucial stage or turning point in the course of something, esp in a sequence of events or a disease
12. an unstable period, esp one of extreme trouble or danger in politics, economics, etc
13. (Pathology) pathol a sudden change, for better or worse, in the course of a disease. Also (archaic): crise
    pathol
14. a turning point, as in a sequence of events, for better or for worse.
15. a condition of instability, as in international relations, that leads to a decisive change.
16. a personal tragedy, emotional upheaval, or the like.

Equivalents

Examples

“The financial crisis could have⟳ been avoided and was the result⟳ of poor decision making both in Washington and at top financial firms that fostered a culture of excessive risk⟳ taking, according to a draft report⟳ written by Democrats on a panel that investigated the meltdown and obtained by Reuters.”

“The big question⟳, I believe⟳, is whether the Italian and maybe Spanish crises are the kind of thing that might be brought under control⟳ by ECB bond purchases. This is often phrased in terms of whether they are facing liquidity or solvency problems; but I think⟳ it’s better phrased in terms of the possibility of self-fulfilling crises, a la Obstfeld. […] So there is a reasonable case that what we’re seeing in Italy is a self-fulfilling crisis trying to happen⟳, in which fear of default is precisely what leads to default.”

“Are they right? Is pessimism correct⟳? Could the state of the world, like⟳ the stripes on a barbershop pole, keep⟳ sinking lower and lower? It’s easy to see⟳ why people feel⟳ that way: every day the news is filled with stories about war, terrorism, crime, pollution, inequality, drug abuse, and oppression. And it’s not just the headlines we’re talking about; it’s the op-eds and long-form stories as well. Magazine covers warn⟳ us of coming anarchies, plagues, epidemics, collapses, and so many “crises” (farm, health, retirement, welfare, energy, deficit) that copywriters have⟳ had to escalate to the redundant “serious crisis.” Whether or not the world really is getting worse, the nature of news will interact with the nature of cognition to make⟳ us think⟳ that it is. News is about things that happen⟳, not things that don’t happen⟳.”

“I'm having a major crisis trying to wallpaper the living room.”

CEFR level