crises

crises — noun

1. serious periods when a country, family, or organization faces severe conflict, d

1.nounB2
Definition

serious periods when a country, family, or organization faces severe conflict, disorder, or pain.

Example

After the floods, three nearby towns faced food and water crises at once.

food and water crises

Repeated fuel crises forced the island's buses to stop running after dark.

fuel crises

Common collocations
  • economic crises
  • family crises
  • fuel crises
  • health crises
  • staffing crises
Synonyms
  • emergencies

    more immediate and practical, often needing action right away

  • disasters

    stronger because serious harm or loss has already happened

  • turmoil

    focuses more on confusion and disorder than on the whole dangerous period

Antonyms
  • stability

    a calm, steady state without severe disorder or danger

Grammar Patterns

face crises

economic crises

family crises

Usage Note

Often used for social, political, family, or money problems that last longer than one moment. Distinguish this sense from sense 2, which focuses on the decisive point inside a situation.

Common Mistakes

The town had many crisis after the storm.
The town had many crises after the storm.
The plural of 'crisis' is the irregular form 'crises'.

2. points in events when the next decision or change is especially dangerous or imp

2.nounB2
Definition

points in events when the next decision or change is especially dangerous or important.

Example

The peace talks passed through several crises before both sides signed the deal.

passed through several crises

At two crises during the surgery, Dr. Okafor asked for extra blood.

crises in the surgery

Common collocations
  • constitutional crises
  • crises in talks
  • crises in surgery
  • pass through crises
Synonyms
  • turning points

    more neutral because a turning point can be good or bad

  • junctures

    more formal and less dramatic

  • flashpoints

    narrower because it often suggests sudden conflict or violence

Grammar Patterns

pass through crises

crises in talks

crises in surgery

Usage Note

Often appears with through, at, or in when describing a dangerous turning point inside a larger process. Distinguish it from sense 1, which describes the broader troubled period around those moments.

3. stages in a severe illness where the patient may suddenly improve or decline.

3.nounC1
Definition

stages in a severe illness where the patient may suddenly improve or decline.

Example

By dawn, the nurses said the boy had passed the night's worst crises.

passed the night's worst crises

Doctors watched for breathing crises during the baby's first night in hospital.

breathing crises

Common collocations
  • breathing crises
  • crises in the illness
  • night's worst crises
  • medical crises
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • recovery

    a period when the patient is clearly getting better

Grammar Patterns

breathing crises

crises in the illness

pass the worst crises

Usage Note

Used in hospital or medical discussion about moments when an illness may suddenly turn either way. Unlike sense 2, this sense is specific to the progress of a disease.

4. sudden periods when people stop trusting a person, system, market, or plan.

4.nounC1
Definition

sudden periods when people stop trusting a person, system, market, or plan.

Example

A string of banking scandals caused investor crises of confidence across the region.

crises of confidence

Late deliveries created crises of confidence among customers in the online store.

Common collocations
  • crises of confidence
  • investor crises of confidence
  • public crises of confidence
  • customer crises of confidence
Synonyms
  • trust collapses

    stresses the result more than the unstable period itself

  • panics

    stronger and more emotional, especially in markets

  • backlashes

    focuses on angry reaction, not specifically on lost trust

Antonyms
  • confidence

    steady trust in a person, system, or plan

Grammar Patterns

crises of confidence

cause crises of confidence

public crises of confidence

Usage Note

Most often appears in the fixed pattern crisis of confidence or crises of confidence. It is usually about trust in leaders, institutions, markets, or other systems rather than personal sadness.

Common Mistakes

The scandal caused crises of trust in the bank.
The scandal caused crises of confidence in the bank.
The usual set phrase in this sense is 'crisis of confidence'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Crisis is the broadest word in this group. It suggests a dangerous or unstable situation that demands serious decisions soon, but it does not always mean the worst damage has already happened. Emergency is more immediate and practical, often used when help or action is needed right away. Disaster is stronger and usually implies major harm or loss. Turmoil focuses on confusion and disorder, especially in politics or emotions, while upheaval suggests large changes that turn a system upside down. A hospital may declare an emergency after a crash, a government may struggle through a political crisis, and an earthquake may become a disaster for an entire region.

emergency ↗disaster ↗turmoil ↗upheaval ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • crises of confidence
  • face repeated crises
  • move from one crisis to another
  • pass through crises

Etymology

GreekLatinEnglish

Crises is the plural of crisis. The singular entered English through Latin from Greek krisis, a word for a decision, judgment, or turning point. Greek built it from a verb meaning to separate or decide. The unusual plural ending -es keeps the older Greek pattern that English also preserves in pairs such as analysis/analyses and thesis/theses.

First known use

15th century

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a