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

Extreme drought has turned the region into a tinderbox and allowed flames to spread. — Sarah Lynch Baldwin, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026

The red card turned St James’ Park into a frenzied tinderbox. — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2026

The whole place is a tinderbox. — Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025

Unlike natural thinning, large fire-resilient trees are typically high-graded for felling in Jackson, creating tinderboxes of 300 to 500 mostly juvenile trees per acre. — John P. O’Brien, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025