litmus test

Definition of litmus testnext
as in challenge
something (such as an opinion about a political or moral issue) that is used to make a judgment about whether someone or something is acceptable The party is using attitudes about gun control as a litmus test for political candidates.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of litmus test The same dynamic is now widely observed in universities, where hiring and professional advancement practices have produced increasingly uniform ideological cultures even without explicit political litmus tests. James Broughel, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026 Trump has stressed a desire for rate cuts as a litmus test for the new central bank chief. Sean Conlon,pia Singh, CNBC, 26 Jan. 2026 When even pop stars become partisan litmus tests, that common ground keeps shrinking. Laurel Elder, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026 Lucas became a litmus test of sorts when his old school, Wisconsin, sued Miami, alleging Cristobal's staff induced the freshman into breaching his NIL contract with the Badgers. Arkansas Online, 19 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for litmus test
Recent Examples of Synonyms for litmus test
Noun
  • The El Paso incident underscores the challenges of coordinating military technology testing with civilian airspace safety, especially near international borders.
    Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 12 Feb. 2026
  • The first team to repeat as World Series champions in a quarter-century, the Dodgers’ challenge now is to become the first National League team (ever) to win three consecutive titles and join the Oakland A’s (1972-74) and New York Yankees (on multiple occasions) as the only franchises to do it.
    Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 11 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • That kicks off an 11-game gauntlet in which the Knicks face eight teams currently in playoff position and three others within striking distance of a play-in spot.
    Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 16 Feb. 2026
  • However, that doesn’t mean winning is guaranteed in the grueling gauntlet that’s the 6A Division I basketball playoffs.
    Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • This was a place and time in history of tremendous creativity that grew out of the acid test parties, the beatnik poets, and the Summer Of Love.
    Brian Halligan, Fortune, 25 Nov. 2025
  • The azaleas will be the acid test.
    Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • This case bears close similarities to the trials of James and Jennifer Crumbley, whose then-15-year-old son killed four students in 2021 at his high school in Oxford, Michigan.
    Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 16 Feb. 2026
  • The company has been negotiating a settlement, opposed by Slater, to avoid a trial that could break it up along the lines of its 2010 merger.
    Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 15 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • But if President Xi does make a move, whether by mounting a full-scale attack or using his military to blockade the island, the key question will be where such actions fall on the litmus scale.
    Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Sep. 2025
  • And, of course, this is the first major litmus tense of the young and divisive Donald Trump presidency.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Litmus test.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/litmus%20test. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.

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