Synonyms of tinderbox

tinderbox

noun

1

as in volcano

a potentially explosive place or situation

officials sought to calm the situation, which had grown into a tinderbox

Synonyms & Similar Words

• volcano
• time bomb
• powder keg
• third rail
• flash point
• hot button

2

as in crisis

a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action

while the country's prime minister was meeting with the U.S. president, a political tinderbox was igniting at home

Synonyms & Similar Words

• crisis
• situation
• emergency
• head
• crossroad(s)
• exigency
• extremity
• boiling point
• clutch
• flash point
• conjuncture
• juncture
• breaking point
• crunch
• predicament
• zero hour
• crunch time
• deadlock
• possibility
• milestone
• climax
• point of no return
• corner
• happening
• moment of truth
• contingency
• impasse
• landmark
• hot water
• turning point
• condition
• jam
• Dunkirk
• stalemate
• strait
• hole
• fix
• pass
• pinch
• spot
• last ditch
• eleventh hour
• last minute
• scrape