1.   In a purely ecological sense, this wave pattern describes a situation that might be called suspended extinction.

2.   The police describe the situation as approaching crisis proportions.

3.   These are particularly useful to describe situations where events occur in parallel or in patterns rather than in a single series.

4.   The situation can be described, without exaggeration, as disastrous.

5.   He described a situation where external economic relations were managed by the EC and where foreign policy was controlled by member governments as leading to organized schizophrenia.

6.   Friends of the Earth has described the situation as scandalous, and called on the National Rivers Authority to prevent further seepage.

7.   Latest reports from what was Yugoslavia describe the situation as a potential tinderbox, medical teams from Britain have been warned of growing ethnic tensions.

8.   A noted Michigan native once coined a phrase to describe the situation in a game when it is either won or lost.

9.   A U.N. officer described the situation as a standoff.