1
as in volcanoes
a potentially explosive place or situation
officials sought to calm the situation, which had grown into a tinderbox
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in crises
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 tinderboxes
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
John P. O’Brien, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinderboxes
Noun
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The idea was controversial, because volcanoes were always thought to act independently, tapping their own supplies of molten, eruptible rock.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
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Filmmaker Sara Dosa is going from the molten to the melting, from fiery volcanoes to dissolving glaciers.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Gas is still cheaper than in several prior geopolitical crises and energy is a smaller share of people's expenses.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
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Structural adjustment programs devastated social services through budget cuts and user fees, creating barriers for the poor to access basic health care and education, while the liberalization of mining sectors caused severe environmental degradation and health crises.—
Sven van Mourik,
The Dial,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Strikes have repeatedly hit areas near Qa’im, a town on the border with Syria, and near Rutba, a key crossroads on the Amman–Baghdad route and a strategic gateway toward Syria and Jordan.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2026
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Vance appears poised to stand at the crossroads of those varying interests.—
Gabe Kaminsky,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tinderboxes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinderboxes. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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