as in volcano
a potentially explosive place or situation
the immigration bill has become a political powder keg for legislators on both sides of the aisle
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of powder keg
How could a powder keg, years in the making, hide in plain sight?
—
Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 25 July 2025
Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal star in the polarizing film, set in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as a sheriff and mayor who sparks a powder keg in their small town.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 20 July 2025
That sparks a powder keg as neighbors are pitted against each other in this New Mexico pueblo.
—Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
The Kansas City Royals rolled into town sitting on a powder keg.
—Kansas City Star, 5 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for powder keg
Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 25 July 2025
Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal star in the polarizing film, set in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as a sheriff and mayor who sparks a powder keg in their small town.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 20 July 2025
That sparks a powder keg as neighbors are pitted against each other in this New Mexico pueblo.
—Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
The Kansas City Royals rolled into town sitting on a powder keg.
—Kansas City Star, 5 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for powder keg
Recent Examples of Synonyms for powder keg
volcano
Noun
-
Early Sunday on the same sparsely populated peninsula, the Krasheninnikov volcano spewed white ash clouds into the sky for the first time in hundreds of years.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
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The Philippines sits along the Ring of Fire, a 25,000-mile (40,000-kilometer) arc of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean that hosts more than half of the world’s volcanoes.—
Brandon Miller,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Powder keg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/powder%20keg. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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