1
as in volcano
a potentially explosive place or situation
officials sought to calm the situation, which had grown into a tinderbox
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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
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Recent Examples of tinderbox
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
Keeping the lake low has turned 500 acres of lakebed into a tinderbox — dry invasive grasses with moisture content under 5% — directly in the path of Santa Ana winds.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025
In a naturally occurring tinderbox, there’s only so much local officials can do to prevent fires.
—Bianca Moreno-Paz, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for 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
Keeping the lake low has turned 500 acres of lakebed into a tinderbox — dry invasive grasses with moisture content under 5% — directly in the path of Santa Ana winds.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025
In a naturally occurring tinderbox, there’s only so much local officials can do to prevent fires.
—Bianca Moreno-Paz, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tinderbox
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinderbox
Noun
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Another brilliant show of Earth's power was caught on camera over the weekend when a geyser of molten rock burst from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
16 Feb. 2026
-
This dormant volcano provided a majestic backdrop for the resort—our home base for five days.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
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As Russia reduced flows, prices spiked, pushing up energy bills and helping fuel a cost of living crisis.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Anger among Labour lawmakers about Mandelson escalated into a crisis for Starmer that could yet end his leadership.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Thus, the robot can adapt to new situations without losing key properties of the movement, such as keeping a bottle vertical so as not to spill the contents, as per the press release.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Minnesota is currently the only team among the top seven of the Big Ten not to be nationally ranked, though that situation may change when Monday’s latest Associated Press poll is released — the Gophers fell two votes shy in last week’s Top 25 polling.—
Staff Report,
Twin Cities,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tinderbox.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinderbox. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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