as in volcanoes
a potentially explosive place or situation
the region's political instability has turned it into a ticking time bomb
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Recent Examples of time bombs
Ray’s most chaotic photograms—jumbles that push out of the frame or look like time bombs ready to explode—find echoes in his films, projected on the back walls, a show in themselves.
—
Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for time bombs
volcanoes
Noun
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The result is far more complex than the drawings of volcanoes most saw in school, with a main vent connecting a chamber of magma with the surface.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Jan. 2026
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The first signs of the river were the volcanoes, armored with ice.—
Stanley Stewart,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Time bombs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/time%20bombs. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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