juncture

[juhngk-cher]

noun

1. a point of time, especially one made critical or important by a concurrence of circumstances.

   At this juncture, we must decide whether to stay or to walk out.

2. a serious state of affairs; crisis.

   The matter has reached a juncture and a decision must be made.

3. the line or point at which two bodies are joined; joint or articulation; seam.

4. the act of joining.

5. the state of being joined.

6. something by which two things are joined.

7. Phonetics.

   1. a pause or other phonological feature or modification of a feature, as the lengthening of a preceding phoneme or the strengthening of a following one, marking a transition or break between sounds, especially marking the phonological boundary of a word, clause, or sentence: it is present in such words as night-rate and re-seed and absent in such words as nitrate and recede.

   2. the point in a word or group of words at which such a pause or other junctural marker occurs.

juncture

/ ˈdʒʌŋktʃə /

noun

1. a point in time, esp a critical one (often in the phrase at this juncture )

2. linguistics

   1. a pause in speech or a feature of pronunciation that introduces, accompanies, or replaces a pause

   2. the set of phonological features signalling a division between words, such as those that distinguish a name from an aim

3. a less common word for junction

Word History and Origins

Origin of juncture¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin junctūra, equivalent to junct(us) ( junction ) + -ūra -ure

Idioms and Phrases

see at this point (juncture).

Synonym Study

See junction.

Example Sentences

Identity is very much fluid at this historical juncture, when a man’s severed leg turns up in the belly of a dead shark and no one can identify it.

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Australia is at a "critical juncture" in its transition to a low-emissions future, said the Climate Change Authority, an independent advisory body to the government.

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In Andy’s words, “we are at a fascinating juncture in the markets.”

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This withdrawal of liquidity is already causing some tensions in the repo market that have not been witnessed since 2019 and this persuades Howell that stocks are not the right asset allocation at this juncture.

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The executive shuffle comes at a critical juncture for the industry—rife with uncertainty over consumer demand and questions over how artificial intelligence will change shopping behavior.

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Related Words

• crossroad