hinge point
Critical turning juncture
A hinge point is a moment or factor on which outcomes turn—the critical juncture where things could go either way.
Like a door's hinge determines which direction it swings, a hinge point determines what follows: The election proved to be a hinge point in the nation's history.
The term emphasizes both pivotal importance and the possibility of different directions.
- pivotPoint of rotation
- defining momentCrucial event shaping outcome
- fulcrumLever's balance point
- cruxMost important point
- thresholdPoint of beginning
razor's edge · junction · crossroads · swing · swing vote · axis · critical moment · critical juncture · leverage · watershed · door · joint · bracket · rotation · decision · break · shift · inflection
- turning pointsdefining moment, pivotal event, pivotal moment, crossroads, crux
- thresholdslimit, threshold, brink, edge, boundary
- machined featureshole, bore, slot, groove, chamfer
hinge pointnon-event
Disappointing lack of significance
footnote · irrelevance · afterthought · side note · incidental
hinge pointforegone conclusion
Result assumed beforehand
inevitability · fait accompli · certainty · predestination · sealed fate
hinge pointsteady state
Unchanging system condition
stasis · continuity · status quo · equilibrium · plateau
hinge, point, hinges, hinged, hinging, points, pointed, pointing, pointer