matter of life and death
Survival hangs here
A matter of life and death is something of utmost urgency or importance—literally, a situation where survival hangs in the balance.
More often used hyperbolically to emphasize high stakes: Don't treat every deadline like it's a matter of life and death.
The phrase dramatizes ordinary concerns, sometimes ironically.
Expressing disapproval or importance
- direExtremely serious or urgent
- graveSerious and worrying
- urgentNeeding immediate attention
- desperateDriven by urgent need
vital · serious · decisive · pivotal · high-stakes · do-or-die · pressing · crucial
Risking death
- dangerousApt to cause harm
- perilousFraught with danger
- precariousDangerously insecure
- riskyInvolving possible harm
hazardous · jeopardy · survival · fatal · deadly · lethal · hanging by a thread · on the line
Crisis response number
- ambulanceEmergency medical transport
- paramedicsEmergency medical technicians
- triageSeverity-based prioritization
- ERAcute care department
trauma · resuscitate · defibrillator · lifesaving · rescue · code blue · intensive care · medevac
Results of actions taken
- outcomeFinal result of events
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
- fatePredetermined course of events
- destinyPredetermined course of events
gamble · all or nothing · existential · ultimate · make or break · win or lose · point of no return
critical
Expressing disapproval or importance
desperate · vital · serious · decisive · pivotal · high-stakes · do-or-die · pressing · crucial · imperative
life-threatening
Risking death
- dangerousApt to cause harm
- perilousFraught with danger
- precariousDangerously insecure
risky · hazardous · jeopardy · survival · fatal · deadly · lethal · hanging by a thread · on the line · touch and go
911
Crisis response number
- ambulanceEmergency medical transport
- paramedicsEmergency medical technicians
- triageSeverity-based prioritization
ER · trauma · resuscitate · defibrillator · lifesaving · rescue · code blue · intensive care · medevac · CPR
consequences
Results of actions taken
destiny · gamble · all or nothing · existential · ultimate · make or break · win or lose · point of no return
matter of life and deathtriviality
Unimportant small matter
trifle · no big deal · nothing · non-issue · small potatoes
matter of life and deathacademic question
Hypothetical issue, practically irrelevant
moot point · irrelevancy · minor point · quibble · nicety
matter, matters, mattered, mattering, material, materialism, materialist, materialistic, materialize