Thesaurus results for TINDERBOX

tinderbox

noun

ˈtin-dər-ˌbäks

Definition of tinderbox

as in volcano

a potentially explosive place or situation officials sought to calm the situation, which had grown into a tinderbox

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as in crisis

a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action while the country's prime minister was meeting with the U.S. president, a political tinderbox was igniting at home

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tinderbox The tinderbox conditions also drove record-setting extreme wildfires across the continent. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2026 This year, Europe has been sweltering under an exceptionally hot and arid summer, with tinderbox conditions setting off unprecedented fires that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate homes and vacation spots. — ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026 As always with nuclear technology, worries about security, weapons proliferation and political complications in a tinderbox region have been central concerns. — Yousef Saba, USA Today, 22 July 2026 That was exacerbated by the extreme heat this year in France and Spain, which in many cases turned scrub grassland into a tinderbox. — Simon Constable, FOXNews.com, 19 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for tinderbox

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinderbox

Noun

To go in a mine, to go on top of a semi-active volcano, to go on a Bulgarian river with a drunk boat captain.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
An important hazard is also associated with the glaciers on the steep-sided volcanoes of the Cascade Range, which stretches from California to Washington.

— Andrew Fountain, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of volcano

Noun

Advertisement The protests are also occurring amid a wider crisis of political confidence in the country.

— Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
The agency, created in 1974 in the wake of the Arab oil embargo, is tasked with maintaining energy security by deploying oil stockpiles in response to crises like the wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

— Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of crisis

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tincturing

tinderbox

tinderboxes

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“Tinderbox.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinderbox. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of tinderbox

noun

Example Sentences

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