juncture

juncture
    n 1: an event that occurs at a critical time; "at such junctures
         he always had an impulse to leave"; "it was needed only on
         special occasions" [syn: {juncture}, {occasion}]
    2: a crisis situation or point in time when a critical decision
       must be made; "at that juncture he had no idea what to do";
       "he must be made to realize that the company stands at a
       critical point" [syn: {juncture}, {critical point},
       {crossroads}]
    3: the shape or manner in which things come together and a
       connection is made [syn: {articulation}, {join}, {joint},
       {juncture}, {junction}]
    

Juncture \Junc"ture\ (j[u^][ng]k"t[-u]r; 135), n. [L. junctura,
   fr. jungere to join. See {Jointure}.]
   1. A joining; a union; an alliance. [Obs.] "Devotional
      compliance and juncture of hearts." --Eikon Basilike.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The line or point at which two bodies are joined; a joint;
      an articulation; a seam; as, the junctures of a vessel or
      of the bones. --Boyle.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. A point of time; esp., one made critical or important by a
      concurrence of circumstances; hence, a crisis; an
      exigency. "Extraordinary junctures." --Addison.
      [1913 Webster]

            In such a juncture, what can the most plausible and
            refined philosophy offer?             --Berkeley.
      [1913 Webster]
    

107 Moby Thesaurus words for "juncture":
      ankle, articulation, boundary, butt, caesura, cervix, circumstance,
      clause boundary, clause terminal, clinch, close juncture, closure,
      colon, comma, condition, conjuncture, connecting link,
      connecting rod, connection, contingency, coupling, crisis,
      crossroads, crux, day, dovetail, elbow, embrace, emergency, event,
      eventuality, exigency, falling terminal, fateful moment,
      gliding joint, hinge, hinged joint, hip, hour, incident, instant,
      interface, interval, join, joining, joint, junction, kairos, knee,
      knuckle, link, minute, miter, moment, moment of truth, mortise,
      neck, occasion, occurrence, open juncture, pass, pause, period,
      pinch, pivot, pivot joint, plight, point, posture, predicament,
      pregnant moment, psychological moment, quandary, rabbet,
      rising terminal, sandhi, scarf, seam, season, semicolon, shoulder,
      situation, space, span, spell, stage, state, status, stitch, stop,
      strait, stretch, suture, symphysis, terminal, tie rod, time,
      time lag, toggle, toggle joint, turning point, union, weld, while,
      word boundary, wrist, zero hour