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
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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Nicaragua has 27 volcanoes, eight of which are active.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Melting associated with these volcanoes unlocks carbon that’s been trapped inside rocks for thousands of years, bringing it to Earth's surface.—
Ben Mather,
Space.com,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
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At and after the end of the Second World War, Italian filmmakers responded with a new freedom to the traumas of Fascism and German Occupation as well as to the crises of American intervention amid Italy’s efforts to rebuild physically, politically, and morally.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
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He’s trapped in rolling crises of his own making and is struggling to sell voters on the idea of a strong American economy.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Joe Palaggi is a writer and historian whose work sits at the crossroads of theology, politics, and American civic culture.—
Joe Palaggi,
Twin Cities,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Maryland stands at a crossroads.—
Steve Hershey,
Baltimore Sun,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tinderboxes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tinderboxes. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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