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
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
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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El Niño cycles So scientists went digging for answers to the mystery heat, tapping ideas from volcanoes to the sun to the clouds floating overhead.—
Lauren Sommer,
NPR,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Kilauea, one of Hawaii’s most active volcanoes, just erupted, sending lava over 1,000 feet into the air and visitors to the state’s most famous national park scrambling for cover.—
Owen Clarke,
Outside,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The move aggravated the country's existing energy crises and triggered widespread fuel shortages.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Officials in Cuba reported an islandwide blackout Monday as deepening energy and economic crises continue to strain a crumbling power grid.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Mar. 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
-
Kojima’s denim industry is at a crossroads, where the love for its heritage and the desire to preserve it must meet the need for new generations to step in and carry the torch forward.—
Jessica Binns,
Sourcing Journal,
18 Mar. 2026
-
The questions put Homeland Security at a crossroads.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
My mother did not let the number of heads that were turning our way go unremarked upon.—
Han Ong,
New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2026
-
In one episode, the crew of the Red Dwarf visits an Earth on which time moves backwards, culminating in a slapstick reverse Wild West-style bar fight that sees teeth reappear in mouths, windows reassemble, and chairs unbreak over heads.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flash points.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flash%20points. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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