1
as in volcano
a potentially explosive place or situation
that troubled region remains one of the world's most dangerous flash points
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2
as in crisis
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 point
The issue has become a flash point for Republicans to signal their stance on immigration.
—
Max Rego, The Hill, 23 Sep. 2025
Rhetoric about Taiwan, the most prominent flash point for Chinese sovereignty, is an example of the historical origins of the issue.
—David C. Kang, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2025
Yet with each subsequent racial flash point, from the arrest of Henry Louis Gates in 2009 to the murder of George Floyd, calls resurfaced for the national conversation.
—Lee Bebout, The Conversation, 16 Sep. 2025
Early on, Feld became Chicago’s most divisive restaurant, a flash point for critics of highfalutin many-course tasting menus.
—The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flash point
Max Rego, The Hill, 23 Sep. 2025
Rhetoric about Taiwan, the most prominent flash point for Chinese sovereignty, is an example of the historical origins of the issue.
—David C. Kang, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2025
Yet with each subsequent racial flash point, from the arrest of Henry Louis Gates in 2009 to the murder of George Floyd, calls resurfaced for the national conversation.
—Lee Bebout, The Conversation, 16 Sep. 2025
Early on, Feld became Chicago’s most divisive restaurant, a flash point for critics of highfalutin many-course tasting menus.
—The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flash point
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flash point
Noun
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Treasure Island had a pirate show, and the Mirage had this volcano show.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
19 Oct. 2025
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About 150 volcanoes in the Atacama Andes—including Láscar, Chile’s most active—create this shape-shifting environment that’s as active as the travelers cresting it.—
Laura Dannen Redman,
Robb Report,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The members face a crisis of friendship as loyalties shift, trust is tested, and the lines between fact and fiction blur.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
22 Oct. 2025
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Democrats criticized House Republicans for remaining away from Washington, arguing that their absence is prolonging the crisis and deepening hardship for workers and families nationwide.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
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
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Ignoring deforestation is a ticking time bomb for coffee companies, which stand to see production decrease and prices increase in an increasingly hot and dry world.—
Marianne Krasny,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The two years of tension reached a boiling point on June 2, 2023, when Lorincz and two of Owens' children got into a particularly heated exchange, according to the outlet.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
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Domestic tensions could reach a boiling point today.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The network was about to hire The Daily Show host when a producer Kimmel worked with on the '90s game show Win Ben Stein's Money suggested that the head of the network watch video of him, Kimmel explained Wednesday on the Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Oct. 2025
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To combat this, a 4-2-3-1 can be morphed into multiple defensive shapes depending on the head coach’s preference.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Snell was able to build a brilliant performance in part because the Dodgers ground the hard-throwing Greene to his breaking point.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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That’s almost the scale of electricity that Sam Altman and his partners say will be devoured by their next wave of AI data centers—a single corporate project consuming more power, every single day, than two American cities pushed to their breaking point.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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So, the defense doubled down on dominance in crunch time.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Oct. 2025
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While Tampa Bay has enjoyed some good fortune late in games (4-1 in one-score games), Mayfield just might be that guy in crunch time.—
Austin Mock,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flash point.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flash%20point. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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