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
Nellie keeping things bottled up was a powder keg waiting to blow.
—
Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
This week’s incident was the spark many feared amid a growing powder keg of heightened activity by immigration authorities in Minneapolis and nationwide.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 10 Jan. 2026
In the update, Cumberbatch and Colman play a seemingly perfect husband and wife with the perfect family, but underneath the façade is a powder keg of resentment and fierce competition that eventually blows.
—Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
The entire country was a messianic powder keg.
—Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for powder keg
Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
This week’s incident was the spark many feared amid a growing powder keg of heightened activity by immigration authorities in Minneapolis and nationwide.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 10 Jan. 2026
In the update, Cumberbatch and Colman play a seemingly perfect husband and wife with the perfect family, but underneath the façade is a powder keg of resentment and fierce competition that eventually blows.
—Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
The entire country was a messianic powder keg.
—Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for powder keg
Recent Examples of Synonyms for powder keg
volcano
Noun
-
His brothers, Barry Voight, a geologist who invented a formula to predict when a volcano will erupt, and Jon were born in 1937 and 1938, respectively.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Filmmaker Sara Dosa is going from the molten to the melting, from fiery volcanoes to dissolving glaciers.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Powder keg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/powder%20keg. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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