as in crisis
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action
tensions between the two nations had risen to the breaking point
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of breaking point
The previous administration and trustees have driven this university to a breaking point.
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Melissa Brown, The Tennessean, 14 Nov. 2024
In March 2016, Avicii hit a breaking point — and decided to retire from touring to focus on creating music and repairing his health.
—Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 31 Dec. 2024
Advertisement The restlessness and anger in the Arab world were nearing a breaking point that would erupt months later.
—Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2024
Financial uncertainties, health anxieties and the pressures of remote work and childcare in cramped living spaces pushed many marriages to the breaking point.
—Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 17 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for breaking point 
Melissa Brown, The Tennessean, 14 Nov. 2024
In March 2016, Avicii hit a breaking point — and decided to retire from touring to focus on creating music and repairing his health.
—Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 31 Dec. 2024
Advertisement The restlessness and anger in the Arab world were nearing a breaking point that would erupt months later.
—Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2024
Financial uncertainties, health anxieties and the pressures of remote work and childcare in cramped living spaces pushed many marriages to the breaking point.
—Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 17 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for breaking point
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking point
Noun
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Across the last two decades, America has been experiencing a notable maternal health crisis.Cynthia McEwen, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
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Accusations that the military’s leadership was negligent and that its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs had eroded its fighting capability and caused a recruitment crisis became standard Republican rhetoric.Ronald R. Krebs, Foreign Affairs, 14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Things apparently reached a boiling point when the boyfriend’s 65-year-old mother recently got engaged.Toria Sheffield, People.com, 11 Jan. 2025
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Things seemed to reach a boiling point after the team’s 20-17 loss to the woeful Panthers in Germany.Charlotte Carroll, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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There's always one shot that leaves a golfer shaking his or her head.Mike Hutton, Post-Tribune, 19 July 2017
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Delimitros said one of the truck’s side view mirrors struck her in the head, causing minor injuries.David Hernandez, sandiegouniontribune.com, 19 July 2017
Noun
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What had been an inconvenience in one direction is now a blockage for both, a potential flash point.Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Jan. 2025
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This fall, the event became an unexpected flash point in L.A.’s debate over gentrification as long-simmering neighborhood tensions exploded and a vocal group of residents ultimately pushed the ultra-popular flea market out of town.Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near breaking point
Cite this Entry
“Breaking point.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20point. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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