pandora's box

noun

Definition of pandora's boxnext
as in trial
a source of many troubles; something that will lead to many problems Their parents are understandably afraid of opening a pandora's box if they buy their oldest child a car.

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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 pandora's box Being on a government payroll and possibly subject to Senate confirmation would open up a Pandora's box. — Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026 Threat actors understand that breaching one MSP can open Pandora's box and give them access to dozens of client networks. — James Griffin, Forbes.com, 13 Feb. 2026 Opening a box of old photos opens up a Pandora's box of emotions. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 17 Jan. 2026 And Talanoa Hufanga continued to fly around like a calamity let loose from Pandora's box, adding a key third-down pass-breakup on the Jets' final offensive drive. — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 12 Oct. 2025 Advances in technology have opened an exciting possibility or perhaps stirred a Pandora's box. — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024 Meta's plan to generate synthetic content tailored to individual users — which attracted little notice this week amid a slew of product announcements — opens a whole new Pandora's box in an AI world already full of them. — Ina Fried, Axios, 27 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pandora's box
  1. trial
  2. hair shirt
  3. discomfort
  4. rub
Noun
  • Au Kam San, a Macao pro-democracy former lawmaker, was sentenced to 12½ years in prison after a closed-door trial that raised concerns about fairness in the Chinese casino hub's first national security case since the law was enacted in 2009.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The case was one of several lawsuits related to the social media personal injury trial that Meta and YouTube lost earlier this year.
    — Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of trial
Noun
  • Four years later, an America-first cultural crackdown has freed the Met to cast off the hair shirt of reckoning and celebrate its diverse holdings in a spirit of defiance.
    — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
  • And that gave birth to the worst Wolverine, which also gave birth to the idea that the suit is a hair shirt.
    — Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2024
Definition of hair shirt
Noun
  • Acupressure is a Traditional Chinese Medicine technique that uses finger pressure on points along the body’s energy channels to ease tension, anxiety and physical discomfort.
    — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 3 Nov. 2026
  • This information then results in some discomfort on both our parts, and the potential for a lot more explanation about my life than an acquaintance needs.
    — Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of discomfort
Noun
  • The central rub is that China has no choice but to import its soybeans.
    — JOEL WUTHNOW, Foreign Affairs, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The company identified wash, rub and lightfastness testing under ASTM standards as next steps toward product development but did not provide specific test designations or performance grades.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of rub

Browse Nearby Words

pandits
pandora's box
pandora's boxes
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Cite this Entry

“Pandora's box.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pandora%27s%20box. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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