variants
or volcanos
as in time bombs
a potentially explosive place or situation
after months of tension the roommates' living situation was a volcano
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of volcanoes
While volcanoes steadily puff the stuff into the air and oceans, the rate at which this happens has subtly changed over millions of years in the course of a grand planetary tectonic ballet.
—
Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Some scholars countered that Venusian volcanoes could have produced phosphine; others said that the measurements were dubious, and the mystery gas wasn’t phosphine.
—David W. Brown, New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2025
The main islands, including Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, Oahu and Kauai, are among a chain of islands, atolls, reefs and volcanoes beneath the sea that stretches 1,700 miles in the Pacific Ocean.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Seamounts are typically extinct volcanoes that either didn’t reach the surface or were submerged over the centuries, experts say.
—Mark Price, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2025
But now European and American scientists are exploring whether the first human Martians could find refuge via dormant volcanos scattered across the Red Planet, inside lava tubes that criss-cross the Mars underground.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Lighthouse station California’s Central Coast may no longer have active volcanoes, but there is plenty of evidence of ancient volcanic activity, from plugs like Morro Rock (the hardened interior of a former volcano) to stacks (islands formed from eroded volcanic rock).
—A.k. Whitney, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
While on the Croisette, the producers got an alert about volcanoes erupting in Iceland.
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2025
Iceland is nice land The Nordic nation of Iceland, famed for its volcanoes, hot springs and uniquely sublime landscapes, has once again been named the most peaceful country in the world by the Global Peace Index.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2025
Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Some scholars countered that Venusian volcanoes could have produced phosphine; others said that the measurements were dubious, and the mystery gas wasn’t phosphine.
—David W. Brown, New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2025
The main islands, including Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, Oahu and Kauai, are among a chain of islands, atolls, reefs and volcanoes beneath the sea that stretches 1,700 miles in the Pacific Ocean.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Seamounts are typically extinct volcanoes that either didn’t reach the surface or were submerged over the centuries, experts say.
—Mark Price, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2025
But now European and American scientists are exploring whether the first human Martians could find refuge via dormant volcanos scattered across the Red Planet, inside lava tubes that criss-cross the Mars underground.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Lighthouse station California’s Central Coast may no longer have active volcanoes, but there is plenty of evidence of ancient volcanic activity, from plugs like Morro Rock (the hardened interior of a former volcano) to stacks (islands formed from eroded volcanic rock).
—A.k. Whitney, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
While on the Croisette, the producers got an alert about volcanoes erupting in Iceland.
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2025
Iceland is nice land The Nordic nation of Iceland, famed for its volcanoes, hot springs and uniquely sublime landscapes, has once again been named the most peaceful country in the world by the Global Peace Index.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for volcanoes
flash points
Noun
-
Those efforts are now critical as AI and semiconductors become geopolitical flash points.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Volcanoes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/volcanoes. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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