Synonyms of crucible

crucible

noun

ˈkrü-sə-bəl 

as in ordeal

a test of faith, patience, or strength

soldiers who had withstood the crucible of war

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ordeal
• fire
• gauntlet
• trial
• cross
• baptism of fire
• initiation
• baptism
• tragedy
• hardship
• adversity
• misfortune
• challenge
• tribulation
• grievance
• grief
• privation
• trouble
• woe
• mishap
• vicissitude
• difficulty
• acid test
• misadventure
• litmus test
• rigor
• affliction
• discomfort
• inconvenience
• complication
• mischance
• asperity
• nuisance
• annoyance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of crucible

The new press secretary was immediately thrust into some of the administration’s most difficult crucibles, including the early months of the Russia-Ukraine war. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2026

It was built on land that was a Jewish farm even before Israel was founded in the crucible of the 1948 war. — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 26 Oct. 2026

These silicon chunks are melted in bespoke crucibles made of the world’s purest quartz, virtually all of which is mined from a solitary deposit in the mountains of North Carolina. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026

That a self-image forged in the crucible of the fear of being ugly makes women amputate their talents? — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026

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