point of no returnnoun [ S ]
uk/ˌpɔɪnt əv nəʊ rɪˈtɜːn/us/ˌpɔɪnt əv noʊ rɪˈtɝːn/the stage at which it is no longer possible to stop what you are doing and when its effects cannot now be avoided or prevented:
Russia, he said, had reached the point of no return on the road to reform and had to go forward.
Scientists fear that global warming has gone beyond the point of no return.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Turning points & deciding moments
- be at a crossroads idiom
- boiling point
- breakthrough
- brink
- climax
- coming of age
- crunch
- defining moment
- edge
- if/when it comes to the crunch idiom
- landmark
- make-or-break
- milestone
- road
- road to Damascus idiom
- the moment of truth idiom
- turning point
- U-turn
- volte-face
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