as in volcano
a potentially explosive place or situation
the immigration bill has become a political powder keg for legislators on both sides of the aisle
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of powder keg
Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal star in the polarizing film, set in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as a sheriff and mayor who sparks a powder keg in their small town.
—
Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 20 July 2025
That sparks a powder keg as neighbors are pitted against each other in this New Mexico pueblo.
—Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
The Kansas City Royals rolled into town sitting on a powder keg.
—Kansas City Star, 5 July 2025
They are being thrust involuntarily into a powder keg.
—State Rep. Matt Blumenthal, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for powder keg
Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 20 July 2025
That sparks a powder keg as neighbors are pitted against each other in this New Mexico pueblo.
—Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
The Kansas City Royals rolled into town sitting on a powder keg.
—Kansas City Star, 5 July 2025
They are being thrust involuntarily into a powder keg.
—State Rep. Matt Blumenthal, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for powder keg
Recent Examples of Synonyms for powder keg
volcano
Noun
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Some scholars countered that Venusian volcanoes could have produced phosphine; others said that the measurements were dubious, and the mystery gas wasn’t phosphine.—
David W. Brown,
New Yorker,
13 Sep. 2025
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The other ride is a cross between a roller coaster and a simulator which shoots out of the side of the volcano reflecting the story of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Powder keg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/powder%20keg. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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