crisis

noun

An unstable situation, in political, social, economic or military affairs, especially one involving an impending abrupt change.

A crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point.

(psychology) A traumatic or stressful change in a person's life.

(medicine) A sudden change in the course of a disease, usually at which point the patient is expected to either recover or die.

(drama) A point in a drama at which a conflict reaches a peak before being resolved.

Roots

krisiscris- · Greek · decision, turning point

Synonyms for crisis

recessionn emergencyn catastrophen predicamentn disastern calamityn downturnn exigencyn slumpn depressionn

Synonyms & related words for crisis

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of crisis — including recession, emergency, catastrophe, predicament, disaster, calamity. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to crisis

Explore words related to crisis — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include crises, meltdown, epicrisis, turmoil, situation, recessionary, debacle, conjuncture. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for crisis

Common synonyms for crisis include recession, emergency, catastrophe, predicament, disaster, calamity, downturn, exigency — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does crisis come from?

The word crisis breaks down into one root of Greek origin: the root cris-, from Greek krisis (“decision, turning point”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.