Thesaurus results for TINDERBOX

tinderbox

noun

ˈtin-dər-ˌbäks

Definition of tinderbox

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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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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tinderbox This year, Europe has been sweltering under an exceptionally hot and arid summer, with tinderbox conditions setting off unprecedented fires that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate homes and vacation spots. — ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026 As always with nuclear technology, worries about security, weapons proliferation and political complications in a tinderbox region have been central concerns. — Yousef Saba, USA Today, 22 July 2026 That was exacerbated by the extreme heat this year in France and Spain, which in many cases turned scrub grassland into a tinderbox. — Simon Constable, FOXNews.com, 19 July 2026 Without a slow-melting blanket of snow to keep the soil and forests moist, alpine vegetation is drying into a tinderbox earlier than normal and ramping up the fire risk. — Jasmine Garland, The Conversation, 7 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for tinderbox

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinderbox

Noun

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park is named for the tallest volcano in the Cascade Range.

— Giovanna Caravetta, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2026
Earth’s moon—which also has the advantage of being 50 percent larger than Pluto and of having volcanoes that once spewed actual lava instead of mere water—fully deserves planethood by these very same metrics.

— Mike Brown, Scientific American, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of volcano

Noun

The Samuels’ run, however, was the spark that lit the fuse after the Caravan was denied on a fourth-and-short situation on its opening possession.

— Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026
Meanwhile, Fed policy uncertainty, the Middle East situation, and an earnings season burdened with high expectations could all act as catalysts for fresh turbulence.

— , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of situation

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tincturing

tinderbox

tinderboxes

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“Tinderbox.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinderbox. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of tinderbox

noun

Example Sentences

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