Plural of Crisis
“Crisis” forms the irregular plural “crises,” and the pronunciation changes along with the spelling. Learn the pair directly: one crisis, several crises.
The plural of “crisis” is “crises.”
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| one emergency/turning point | crisis | Singular. |
| two or more | crises | Standard irregular plural. |
| regularized form | crisises | Avoid. |
Quick tests
Plural-choice test
Are you referring to more than one crisis?
If yes: Use “crises.”
If no: Use singular “crisis.”
Caveat: The plural changes in pronunciation as well as spelling.
Examples
The report compares several financial crises.
More than one takes “crises.”
The crisis ended after two days.
One takes singular “crisis.”
Those crises had different causes.
Plural “crises” takes plural agreement.
Further guidance
Core difference
Use “crisis” for one and “crises” for more than one.
Fast Test
If the noun takes a plural quantity or plural agreement, choose “crises.”
Usage Boundary
Do not use “crisises” as the standard plural.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- CRISIS | Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Cambridge gives crises as the plural of crisis and records the pronunciation change.