full-blown crisis
1
4.9
- noun
:
crisis total
- One of the casualties of this record use has been the United States court system, which is suffering a full-blown crisis.
Examples
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Since then, European officials have been cobbling together a "financial firewall"—a series of measures to backstop failing banks and prevent another full-blown crisis.
Blog text (33) -
The Soros plan only addresses economic predicaments after they have become critical, if not full-blown crises.
Academic text (2004) -
The nursing shortage in the United States has turned into a full-blown crisis.
Academic text (2002) -
I learned that I bury my problems until they overcome me in a full-blown crisis; and the biggest thing of all, I learned that I wasn't happy.
Fiction book (2000) -
It is perhaps fair to assume that a full-blown crisis will be averted, but the continued impasse is taking a toll on business confidence, as this morning's Empire State survey shows.
Blog text (19) -
The utilities crisis—and make no mistake, CSU is in the midst of a full-blown crisis—seemed to come out of nowhere.
Blog text (13) -
In the first episode, it was the apparent about-face of the Clinton administration in issuing Lee Teng-hui a visa to visit the United States that set into motion a sequence of events that escalated into a full-blown crisis.
Academic text (2014) -
The nursing shortage in the United States has turned into a full-blown crisis.
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The protests escalated rapidly into a full-blown crisis when the government failed to address the citizens' demands.
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After several months of mismanagement, the company's financial troubles developed into a full-blown crisis.
Synonyms
∞
3.1
A very dangerous or difficult time when quick decisions are needed
95
5.8
A sudden total failure that causes serious damage to a system
1
6.6
A situation that needs attention right away because it is very serious
1
3.7
A situation that is a total failure causing big problems
Antonyms
How Severe
Surface Forms
Morphology
full-blown + crisis
The element 'full' clearly conveys completeness and 'blown' here functions as an intensifier meaning ‘fully developed’ or ‘in full bloom’, so the overall sense of a crisis that has reached its most severe stage is partially derivable from the parts. However, the use of 'blown' in this sense is a metaphorical extension (originally from flowers in bloom) and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner who only knows the literal senses of 'blow/blown', making the expression only partially transparent.
Etymology
Full-blown crisis may come from the image of a flower that has opened completely; when a flower is full-blown it is at its full size and shape, so the picture is of something finished and clear. That's why a full-blown crisis means a problem that is 'fully developed' and very serious.