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
One of the flash points in women’s college basketball history unfolded during the 2021 NCAA tournament, when all teams were quarantined in the same bubble in San Antonio for all rounds during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
—
Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 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
Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 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
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How did volcanoes change the AMOC?—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
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From towering volcanoes to fish-flying markets, the Pacific Northwest packs a remarkable range of experiences into one corner of the country.—
Lauren Schuster,
Kansas City Star,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But the war is also having a less visible, yet potentially more consequential, impact on some of the world’s other conflicts and crises.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
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The Biden administration extended TPS for Haiti several times because of economic, health and political crises in the wake of the assassination of its president in 2021.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
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Consider the other teams that, like the Mets, have high expectations and have swiftly reached a crossroads.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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Rabat is a cultural crossroads where books help transmit knowledge and the arts in all their diversity.—
Connor Sturges,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Apr. 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
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Watch all of the day’s events here, including Abel’s first question-and-answer session with insurance chief Ajit Jain, and a panel with the heads of Berkshire’s other businesses.—
Yun Li,Alex Harring,Sarah Min,
CNBC,
2 May 2026
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Still, Fudd was able to adjust and didn’t pick up a single foul after halftime, and Wings coach Jose Fernandez isn’t concerned about the star guard as Dallas heads into its second preseason game Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces at home.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flash points.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flash%20points. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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