life-and-death

/'laifən'deθ/
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Thân thiện
life-and-death

A patient's life-and-death situation requires immediate medical attention.

Definition
  1. Adjective:
    • Of the utmost importance; critical; involving a crucial outcome where survival or success is at stake: Describes a situation, decision, or struggle that is extremely serious, with potentially fatal or irreversible consequences.
Usage
  • The adjective "life-and-death" is used attributively, meaning it typically comes before a noun to modify it.
  • It describes situations of extreme urgency and consequence, often where the fundamental existence or survival of a person, group, or thing is in question.
Examples
  • Adjective:
    • The doctors were faced with a life-and-death decision in the emergency room.
    • The climbers were in a life-and-death struggle against the blizzard.
    • This is not a minor issue; it's a life-and-death matter for the endangered species.
Advanced Usage
  • "a life-and-death situation": A common collocation emphasizing a scenario of extreme peril.
    • The hostage crisis was a life-and-death situation for everyone involved.
  • The term can be used metaphorically for non-physical survival, such as the survival of a business or an idea.
    • For the small company, securing this contract was a life-and-death battle.
Variants and Related Words
  • Life-or-death (adjective): An alternative, synonymous spelling and form.
    • It was a life-or-death choice.
  • Matter of life and death (noun phrase): A situation or issue of supreme importance.
    • Getting the medicine to the village is a matter of life and death.
Synonyms
  • Critical: Of decisive importance; crucial.
  • Crucial: Decisive or critical, especially in the success or failure of something.
  • Vital: Absolutely necessary or essential; of paramount importance.
  • Dire: Extremely serious or urgent, often suggesting disastrous consequences.
Antonyms
  • Trivial: Of little value or importance.
  • Insignificant: Too small or unimportant to be worth consideration.
  • Inconsequential: Not important or significant.
Related Idioms and Phrases
  • A matter of life and death: An idiom functionally identical to the adjective, used as a noun phrase to describe an issue of the utmost seriousness.
    • Please hurry, this delivery is a matter of life and death.
life-and-death

A patient's life-and-death situation requires immediate medical attention.

Adjective
  1. vitally important
    • a life-and-death struggle

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