1
as in volcanoes
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 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
The Industrial Revolution, supercharged by the Civil War, transformed Northeastern cities into denser and denser wooden tinderboxes filled with tons of humans more than capable of accidentally generating sparks.
—
Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
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
Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinderboxes
Noun
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For Reykjavik native Gulla Jónsdóttir, the Aurora Borealis phenomena, molten-red erupting volcanoes, black sand shores and hot water grottoes were part of everyday life growing up.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
8 May 2026
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Today, scientists scoop up lava or ash, fresh or ancient, around volcanoes — both during an eruption and in the interregnum between them — to identify subtle changes in chemical makeup.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 May 2026
Noun
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The ongoing crises of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, coupled with alcohol use, have made for a nightmarish liver landscape.—
Lev Facher,
STAT,
12 May 2026
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As with the previous 12 installments, where revenue served to support the shows’ out-of-work staff, the new episode’s proceeds will benefit the World Central Kitchen, an international nonprofit that provides meals during humanitarian crises.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
11 May 2026
Noun
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The feature centers on two women — Yoriko (Takako Matsu), an artist living in rural Nagi, and her friend and former sister-in-law Yuri (Shizuka Ishibashi) — at a crossroads and searching for a way to move forward.—
Elaina Patton,
IndieWire,
12 May 2026
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The Sprinters Last July, Groenewegen’s career was at a mini-crossroads.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tinderboxes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinderboxes. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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