crucible

noun

ˈkrü-sə-bəl How to pronounce crucible (audio)
Definition of cruciblenext
as in ordeal
a test of faith, patience, or strength soldiers who had withstood the crucible of war

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 crucible 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 After all, these were crucibles meant to test a driver’s car, courage, and constitution—full stop. — Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2026 But the defining common denominator in all this took was in the crucible of the fourth quarter. — Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for crucible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crucible
  1. ordeal
  2. fire
  3. gauntlet
  4. trial
Noun
  • The survivors had yet to speak publicly about their ordeal and had requested privacy, the Australian broadcaster reported.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The village’s ordeal began in the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, when it was occupied.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of ordeal
Noun
  • In Palm Beach County, Amendment 3 could mean higher fees for beach parking, water, sewer, police, fire, parks, museums and libraries, and longer response times for emergency services.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Raman has portrayed Bass as a weak and ineffective leader, pointing to her handling of the Palisades fire, the homelessness crisis and the city’s ongoing struggle to deliver basic services.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of fire
Noun
  • What made the Trojans’ previous losses so galling was the gauntlet ahead of them, starting with Ohio State.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The gauntlet of the NFC West awaits with a home game against the 49ers in two weeks and back-to-back road trips (with a bye in between) to take on the Seahawks and Rams.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of gauntlet
Noun
  • Au Kam San, a Macao pro-democracy former lawmaker, was sentenced to 12½ years in prison after a closed-door trial that raised concerns about fairness in the Chinese casino hub's first national security case since the law was enacted in 2009.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The case was one of several lawsuits related to the social media personal injury trial that Meta and YouTube lost earlier this year.
    — Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of trial

Browse Nearby Words

crucial
crucible
crucibles
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Crucible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crucible. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on crucible

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about crucible

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cockamamie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All