| Main Entry: | deadlock |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | stalemate, impasse |
Synonyms: |
Catch-22, box*, cessation, checkmate, corner, dead end, dead heat, dilemma, draw, full stop, gridlock, halt, hole, pause, pickle, plight, posture, predicament, quandary, standoff, standstill, tie, wall* |
| Notes: | stalemate does not end - it is the outcome (stale in stalemate is from Anglo-Norman meaning 'be placed'); a standoff or deadlock can end |
Antonyms: |
agreement, breakthrough |
| Main Entry: | crisis |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | critical situation |
Synonyms: |
big trouble, catastrophe, change, climacteric, climax, confrontation, contingency, corner, crossroad, crunch, crux, culmination, deadlock, dilemma, dire straits, disaster, embarrassment, emergency, entanglement, exigency, extremity, height, hot potato, hour of decision, imbroglio, impasse, juncture, mess, moment of truth, necessity, pass, perplexity, pickle, pinch*, plight, point of no return, predicament, pressure, puzzle, quandary, situation, stew, strait, trauma, trial, trouble, turning point, urgency |
Antonyms: |
calm, peace |
| Main Entry: | difficulty |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | problem; situation requiring great effort |
Synonyms: |
adversity, arduousness, awkwardness, barricade, check, complication, crisis, crux, dead end, deadlock, deep water, dilemma, distress, emergency, exigency, fix*, frustration, hardship, hazard, hindrance, hitch*, hot water, impasse, knot*, labor, laboriousness, mess, misfortune, muddle, obstacle, obstruction, pain, painfulness, paradox, perplexity, pickle, predicament, quagmire, quandary, scrape*, snag*, stew, strain, strait, strenuousness, struggle, stumbling block, tribulation, trouble |
Antonyms: |
calm, ease, felicity, peace, tranquility |
| Main Entry: | draw |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | tie in competition |
Synonyms: |
dead end, dead heat, deadlock, even steven, photo finish, stalemate, standoff, tie |
| Main Entry: | impasse |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | stalemate |
Synonyms: |
Catch-22, box*, cessation, corner*, cul-de-sac, dead end, deadlock, dilemma, fix, gridlock, jam, mire*, morass, pause, pickle, plight, predicament, quandary, rest, scrape*, standoff, standstill |
Antonyms: |
agreement, breakthrough |
| Main Entry: | pause |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | wait, delay |
Synonyms: |
abeyance, break, break-off, breathing space, breathing spell, caesura, cessation, coffee break, comma, cutoff, deadlock, discontinuance, downtime, freeze*, gap, gridlock, halt, happy hour, hesitancy, hesitation, hiatus, hitch*, hush, interim, interlude, intermission, interregnum, interruption, interval, lacuna, lapse, layoff, letup, lull, pausation, recess, respite, rest, rest period, stand, standstill, stay, stillness, stopover, stoppage, suspension, time out |
Antonyms: |
continuation, persistence |
| Main Entry: | predicament |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | difficult situation |
Synonyms: |
Catch-22, asperity, bad news, bind*, circumstance, clutch, condition, corner*, crisis, deadlock, deep water, dilemma, drag*, emergency, exigency, fix*, hang-up, hardship, hole, hot water, imbroglio, impasse, jam*, juncture, large order, lot, mess*, muddle, pass, perplexity, pickle, pinch, plight, position, posture, puzzle, quagmire, quandary, rigor, rough go, scrape*, soup, spot*, state*, strait, tall order ticklish spot tight situation trouble, vicissitude |
Antonyms: |
fix, good fortune, solution |
| Main Entry: | respite |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | pause, suspension in activity |
Synonyms: |
acquittal, adjournment, break, breath*, breather, breathing space, cessation, coffee break, deadlock, deferment, delay, deliverance, discharge, downtime, ease, exculpation, five, forgiveness, halt, hiatus, immunity, intermission, interregnum, interruption, interval, layoff, leisure, letup, lull, moratorium, pardon, postponement, protraction, recess, relaxation, release, relief, reprieve, rest, stay, stop, ten, time, time out, truce |
Antonyms: |
continuation |
| Main Entry: | standoff |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | draw, tie |
Synonyms: |
Mexican standoff, dead heat, deadlock, drawn battle, even game, impasse, level, stalemate, toss-up, wash |
| Notes: | stalemate does not end - it is the outcome (stale in stalemate is from Anglo-Norman meaning 'be placed'); a standoff or deadlock can end |
| Main Entry: | standstill |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | stop |
Synonyms: |
arrest, cessation, check, checkmate, corner*, dead end, dead stop, deadlock, delay, gridlock, halt, hole, impasse, inaction, pause, stalemate, standoff, wait |
Antonyms: |
advance, progress |