Synonyms of tinderbox

tinderbox

noun

ˈtin-dər-ˌbäks 

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tinderbox

Unlike many forests in the American Southwest, where trees are adapted to seasonal drought and frequent fire, these forests can become tinderboxes when subjected to weeks of unusual heat. — Bloomberg, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

The tinderbox conditions also drove record-setting extreme wildfires across the continent. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2026

This year, Europe has been sweltering under an exceptionally hot and arid summer, with tinderbox conditions setting off unprecedented fires that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate homes and vacation spots. — ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026

As always with nuclear technology, worries about security, weapons proliferation and political complications in a tinderbox region have been central concerns. — Yousef Saba, USA Today, 22 July 2026