1
as in volcanoes
a potentially explosive place or situation
that troubled region remains one of the world's most dangerous flash points
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in crises
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action
tensions between the two longtime adversaries were at a flash point
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flash points
Despite the focus on the Middle East, the leaders took up major regional flash points, including the South China Sea territorial disputes involving Beijing, a five-year civil war in Myanmar and a recent border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.
—
Jim Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026
But more potential flash points loom.
—Jill Lawless The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
Policymakers expect other flash points.
—Alan Greenblatt, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
And a handful of standout horror films from around the ’70s, Johnson argues, specifically mirrored and even accelerated feminist flash points at a moment when public opinion regarding the roles and rights of women was wildly in flux.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
Arrests are taking place all over the Chicago area, but some of the biggest flash points have occurred on the South and West Sides, which are home to many of the city’s largest Black and Latino communities.
—Geraldo Cadava, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2025
Those efforts are now critical as AI and semiconductors become geopolitical flash points.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2025
Jim Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026
But more potential flash points loom.
—Jill Lawless The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
Policymakers expect other flash points.
—Alan Greenblatt, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
And a handful of standout horror films from around the ’70s, Johnson argues, specifically mirrored and even accelerated feminist flash points at a moment when public opinion regarding the roles and rights of women was wildly in flux.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
Arrests are taking place all over the Chicago area, but some of the biggest flash points have occurred on the South and West Sides, which are home to many of the city’s largest Black and Latino communities.
—Geraldo Cadava, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2025
Those efforts are now critical as AI and semiconductors become geopolitical flash points.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flash points
Noun
-
For Reykjavik native Gulla Jónsdóttir, the Aurora Borealis phenomena, molten-red erupting volcanoes, black sand shores and hot water grottoes were part of everyday life growing up.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
8 May 2026
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Today, scientists scoop up lava or ash, fresh or ancient, around volcanoes — both during an eruption and in the interregnum between them — to identify subtle changes in chemical makeup.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
The ongoing crises of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, coupled with alcohol use, have made for a nightmarish liver landscape.—
Lev Facher,
STAT,
12 May 2026
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As with the previous 12 installments, where revenue served to support the shows’ out-of-work staff, the new episode’s proceeds will benefit the World Central Kitchen, an international nonprofit that provides meals during humanitarian crises.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
Ray’s most chaotic photograms—jumbles that push out of the frame or look like time bombs ready to explode—find echoes in his films, projected on the back walls, a show in themselves.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
During a period of intense change across fashion and footwear, many women leaders are at a crossroads.—
Katie Abel,
Footwear News,
4 May 2026
-
And those numbers, combined with Spoelstra’s love/hate relationship with the Adebayo/Ware tandem and his appreciation for undersized lineups, has created difficult questions that must be sorted out during a crossroads offseason for the Heat.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
4 May 2026
Noun
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The intense temperature and pressure of the impact heated the moon's crust and mantle so much that many of the volatile elements present (volatiles are elements with low boiling points), including potassium, evaporated and escaped into space.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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Thermodynamics drives selective recovery The researchers hypothesized that FJH combined with chlorine gas could exploit differences in Gibbs free energy and boiling points to selectively remove non-REE elements from magnet waste.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Jokanovic had collected 14 kills by the time the third set had ended, and one of them grazed the top of two Ball State defenders’ heads before hitting the court for the set-winner in the third frame.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
10 May 2026
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Several talking heads mention Magyar’s temper.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flash points.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flash%20points. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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