brink
Where disaster looms
Brink is the edge of a steep place—the brink of a cliff, the brink of a precipice.
The word almost always appears figuratively: on the brink of war, on the brink of disaster, on the brink of a breakthrough.
It suggests the moment just before something significant happens, often something dangerous or transformative.
Steep rock face
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
- ledgeProjecting horizontal surface
- drop-offSudden decrease or edge
- overhangSection projecting beyond support
chasm · abyss · ravine · gorge · escarpment · rockface · steep · heights
Devastating, large-scale misfortune
- meltdownCatastrophic loss of control
- collapseSudden structural failure
- disasterSudden ruinous event
- emergencySerious sudden danger
turmoil · chaos · precipice · flashpoint · breaking point · tipping point · critical · dire
precipice
Steep rock face
overhang · chasm · abyss · ravine · gorge · escarpment · rockface · steep · heights · rim
catastrophe
Devastating, large-scale misfortune
emergency · turmoil · chaos · precipice · flashpoint · breaking point · tipping point · critical · dire · desperation
edge
Boundary or sharpness
fringe · rim · limit · extremity · perimeter · shoreline · bank · coastline · waterline · riverside
verge
Border or cusp
eve · onset · outset · beginning · start · advent · inception · genesis · commencement · launch
- instabilityinstability, unsteadiness, shakiness, wobbliness, precariousness
- thresholdslimit, threshold, edge, boundary, cusp
- edgesedge, top edge, bottom edge, border, boundary
- limitslimit, limits, limitation, upper limit, lower limit
- suspensesuspense, suspenseful, tension, nail-biter, nail-biting
- figurative placeslimbo, crossroads, dead end, comfort zone, happy place
- on the brinkAt the threshold
- on the brink ofJust about to
- brink of disaster
- nuclear brinkmanshipRisking war for leverage
- Brink's truckSecure currency transport vehicle