life-and-death

variants also life-or-death

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of life-and-death Leon Rose watched in the first round of the playoffs as his team played a life-and-death series with a young and inexperienced Pistons team, one that felt as if both teams had match points in every single game. Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 2 May 2025 Hamm will play Fred Heckman, a beloved radio reporter who finds himself in the middle of a life-and-death situation when a man named Tony Kiritsis takes a hostage and then demands airtime on Heckman’s show. Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2025 Its real subject, however, is how people respond when they’re faced with life-and-death choices in desperate situations—something even more relevant two decades later. Heather Hansman, The Atlantic, 22 Apr. 2025 And in this case, the scope of the season’s main subject, and the life-and-death nature of it, makes Nathan’s personality feel more beside the point than usual. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for life-and-death
Recent Examples of Synonyms for life-and-death
Adjective
  • With excitement growing over his pace and death-bowling abilities in the crucial latter stages of an innings — ramped up after a final-over hat-trick against Middlesex in the Twenty20 Blast — England fast-tracked him.
    Max Mathews, New York Times, 9 July 2025
  • Both aspects are a crucial part of the Superman story.
    True Tamplin, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
Adjective
  • The idea that no one was born inherently superior, that status wasn’t tied to birth but to citizenship and shared rights, was a radical break in human history and a decisive rejection of Old World European ideology.
    Jared Nordlund, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 July 2025
  • The second set ultimately went all the way to a tiebreak, and after trading two mini-breaks apiece, the British pair gained a decisive two-point advantage, aided by a Pel double-fault.
    Leon Imber, New York Times, 12 July 2025
Adjective
  • Character is fundamental to leadership; without it, leadership is a position without moral conviction.
    John Baldoni, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025
  • The Montana Supreme Court said the state constitution gives minors the same fundamental rights as adults.
    Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 4 July 2025
Adjective
  • Several other critical alerts followed, warning of the imminent threat: A flash flood emergency warning was issued for Kerr County at 4:03 a.m., followed by one for Kerrville at 5:34 a.m.
    Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 6 July 2025
  • But also probing critical infrastructure and power junctions and stuff like that.
    Charlie Campbell, Time, 6 July 2025
Adjective
  • Those were key questions Friday night during the mostly crowd-pleasing 2025 Happy Together Tour performance at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay.
    George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 July 2025
  • Whether or not the agency could maintain the independence necessary to be seen as legitimate emerged as a key concern during Friday’s board meeting.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 12 July 2025
Adjective
  • Then, just provide basic personal information to secure your new account with bet365.
    Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 July 2025
  • For most of our lives, body odor stems from sweat, bacteria and dead skin, which can be addressed with basic hygiene.
    Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2025
Adjective
  • Jota also notably became the first player in Wolves club history to score back-to-back European hat-tricks and was pivotal in their Europa League run.
    Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 3 July 2025
  • This is the first of a six-part series looking at figures who have played a pivotal role in a modern football success story.
    Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 3 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Life-and-death.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/life-and-death. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

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