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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flash points
The context for Xi’s remarks was a potential war between China and the United States over Taiwan, and the urgency to tamp down flash points.
—
Letters To The Editor, Washington Post, 17 May 2026
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
Letters To The Editor, Washington Post, 17 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flash points
Noun
-
Darwin suspected that atolls formed when coral grew around volcanoes, creating a ring that remained when the volcano subsided.—
Danny Robb,
JSTOR Daily,
19 June 2026
-
The neighborhood/area The Icelandic Highlands are an incredibly special part of the country—uninhabited and covered with sprawling mountains and ancient volcanoes.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 June 2026
Noun
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Horrible things happen all the time, crises and catastrophes that defy language and imagination.—
Karen Valby,
Vanity Fair,
16 June 2026
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So how does one put these two crises in alignment?—
Elizabeth Fazzare,
Architectural Digest,
16 June 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
-
Trade and cultural exchanges became more fluid, encouraging the emergence of a Mediterranean civilization at the crossroads of West and East.—
Roberto Prieto,
Variety,
17 June 2026
-
At the crossroads the right thing can look like the wrong thing and the wrong thing can look like the right thing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 June 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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The proposal, covering more than 160 commercial parcels and nearly $7 million in services over five years, heads to City Hall as residents demand clarity on who will benefit.—
Alejandra Molina,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2026
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Shower heads, curtains, and liners should be cleaned every month or two, depending on how often your shower is used.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flash points.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flash%20points. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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