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 report identified specific flash points, including cross-border water tensions, and said some countries could experience instability, including from straining food and energy systems.
—
Somini Sengupta, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
The move comes after Republican officials ramped up efforts to turn the 2021 order into a partisan flash point ahead of the 2024 election.
—Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 20 Jan. 2025
The city has burned, after all, at various historical flash points — the Watts Riots, the 1992 Uprising, the sundry Malibu fires over the years — and the image has reinscribed itself upon us over and over, as in Ed Ruscha’s legendary 1968 painting The Los Angeles County Museum on Fire.
—Matthew Specktor, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025
What had been an inconvenience in one direction is now a blockage for both, a potential flash point.
—Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flash point
Somini Sengupta, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
The move comes after Republican officials ramped up efforts to turn the 2021 order into a partisan flash point ahead of the 2024 election.
—Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 20 Jan. 2025
The city has burned, after all, at various historical flash points — the Watts Riots, the 1992 Uprising, the sundry Malibu fires over the years — and the image has reinscribed itself upon us over and over, as in Ed Ruscha’s legendary 1968 painting The Los Angeles County Museum on Fire.
—Matthew Specktor, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025
What had been an inconvenience in one direction is now a blockage for both, a potential flash point.
—Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flash point
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flash point
Noun
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The world's largest solar telescope on top of the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii has used a new instrument that took 15 years to build to produce a spectacular first image of the sun.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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The left image features the expansive Tharsis plateau and its chain of dormant volcanoes, including the colossal Olympus Mons, which can be seen towering above the Martian clouds.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The biggest challenges facing Fort Worth include the hiring of a new police chief during a mental health crisis that law enforcement is failing to address effectively.—
Harrison Mantas,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 Apr. 2025
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Production has slowed in recent years, sparking a nationwide crisis, yet people who step forward with solutions meet resistance.—
Daryl James,
National Review,
19 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Go deeper: Malware's AI time bomb Want more stories like this?—
Sam Sabin,
Axios,
24 Mar. 2025
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Mendoza said those problems include the ticking time bomb that is the city budget’s structural deficit and how that could spell an adverse effect on Pritzker and the rest of state government.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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And when the Rangers failed to take a step forward in 2022, despite their marquee free-agent signings of Marcus Semien and Corey Seager (the ex-Dodgers shortstop whom Woodward helped woo to Texas) the previous offseason, discontent among the club reached a boiling point.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Apr. 2025
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The tense hearing reached a boiling point shortly after Balian flashed a photo on the courtroom screen showing José and Kitty’s dead bodies inside the den where they were killed.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Delimitros said one of the truck’s side view mirrors struck her in the head, causing minor injuries.—
David Hernandez,
sandiegouniontribune.com,
19 July 2017
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Cal Fire representatives said the current parking mess has already impacted them because the driveway to their station enters the highway not far from the trail head.—
J. Harry Jones,
Ramona Sentinel,
19 July 2017
Noun
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And compounding crises driven by climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and fiscal pressures have pushed the grid to the breaking point, Cecilio Ortiz García, co-founder of the University of Puerto Rico’s National Institute of Energy and Island Sustainability previously told USA TODAY.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
18 Apr. 2025
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The breaking point seems to have stemmed from frontman Roger Daltrey’s apparent displeasure with Starkey’s playing during the concert last month, which was a benefit for the Teenage Cancer Trust.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
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For two straight Aprils — since Landy’s been out of action, really — the Avs have looked soft in crunch time.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
12 Apr. 2025
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The run, made possible in part because of five KU turnovers in the final three minutes, stretched to 15-5 as KU wilted in crunch time.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flash point.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flash%20point. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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