crisis
part of speech
noun (a crisis, crises)
meaning for a pupil
1) A crisis is a time of great danger, difficulty or trouble when important decisions must be made. tree →
2) A crisis is a turning point when things will get either much better or much worse. tree →
3) (informal) People jokingly call a small problem a crisis, like a hair crisis. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the news and in history lessons: an energy crisis, a food crisis, a health crisis. In safety it means an emergency when you need help. In stories it is the most tense moment of the plot. Informally it can be exaggeration. Phrases: in crisis, crisis point, a crisis of confidence, midlife crisis.
examples
- The town faced a crisis when the river flooded the streets. tree →
- During the water crisis, families had to save every drop. tree →
- The hospital was in crisis because so many people were ill. tree →
- Don't panic — this is not a crisis, it's just a spilled drink! tree →
- The story reaches its crisis when the boat starts to sink. tree →
- In a crisis, stay calm and call 999 or 911. tree →
- Leaders met to solve the crisis. tree →
- Give assistance, not advice, in a crisis. tree →
note
Plural is irregular: one crisis, two crises (CRY-seez). Countable. Adjective: critical. «Midlife crisis» is an informal phrase about adults who suddenly worry about their age.
In the corpora
- "Going through a rough patch" can mean being depressed or in a mental health crisis, or simply having a hard time.
- "Exhaustion", in a press statement about a famous person, often hides a crisis with drink or drugs.
- Staying calm in a crisis lets you do something useful, such as fetching a teacher.
- Other long wars and crises include Yemen, the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and Haiti.
- Charities often prefer money to tins and clothes, because they can buy what is needed near the crisis faster and more cheaply.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «crisis» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.