1
as in volcano
a potentially explosive place or situation
that troubled region remains one of the world's most dangerous flash points
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2
as in crisis
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action
tensions between the two longtime adversaries were at a flash point
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Recent Examples of flash point
The big picture These types of pursuits have proven to be a major flash point for tech companies.
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Sage Lazzaro, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2024
Though election experts say the choices are designed to make voting a simple act, the use of drop boxes has been anything but uncomplicated since the 2020 election, when receptacles in Wisconsin and around the country became flash points for baseless conspiracy theories of election fraud.
—Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2024
The Berlin crisis shows just how dangerous such flash points can be in a global competition between two large nuclear powers.
—Dmitri Alperovitch, Foreign Affairs, 15 May 2024
The enhanced feature is a flash point in the escalating tensions between merchants and the card networks setting the fees for payment processing.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 20 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flash point 
Sage Lazzaro, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2024
Though election experts say the choices are designed to make voting a simple act, the use of drop boxes has been anything but uncomplicated since the 2020 election, when receptacles in Wisconsin and around the country became flash points for baseless conspiracy theories of election fraud.
—Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2024
The Berlin crisis shows just how dangerous such flash points can be in a global competition between two large nuclear powers.
—Dmitri Alperovitch, Foreign Affairs, 15 May 2024
The enhanced feature is a flash point in the escalating tensions between merchants and the card networks setting the fees for payment processing.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 20 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flash point
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flash point
Noun
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There are fresh reasons to go, including a burgeoning wine scene that benefits from wide swaths of fertile ground around the Popocatépetl volcano, some 40 miles west of the city limits.Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 12 Nov. 2024
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That is the total number of active volcanoes present across Indonesia, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program.Siladitya Ray, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Bill undergoes a moral crisis when his path crosses with a wretched head nun (Emily Watson) at a convent that’s part of the notorious Magdalene Laundries — a place of severe abuse of women.Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
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The hand belongs to Palmer (Brian Dietzen), who was dispatched to bring Knight in to deal with this international crisis.Sara Netzley, EW.com, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Europe’s demographic challenges are becoming a ticking time bomb for the region’s economy, with Morgan Stanley delivering a grim prediction for its effects on GDP.Jason Ma, Fortune Europe, 14 Oct. 2024
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The ticking sound in capitals around the world is a demographic time bomb – of a sort unimaginable only a couple of generations ago.Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Oct. 2024
Noun
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However, tensions within the family reached a boiling point when Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) made a bold move by publicly calling for his father's impeachment.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
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Islanders have been dealing with economic turmoil stemming from a financial crisis that reached its boiling point in 2015, when Puerto Rico accumulated about $72 billion in public debt — yet, unlike other U.S. jurisdictions, couldn't legally file for bankruptcy.Nicole Acevedo, NBC News, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
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There's always one shot that leaves a golfer shaking his or her head.Mike Hutton, Post-Tribune, 19 July 2017
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Delimitros said one of the truck’s side view mirrors struck her in the head, causing minor injuries.David Hernandez, sandiegouniontribune.com, 19 July 2017
Noun
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The breaking point came after the 2020 election, when Trump refused to concede defeat and fought to remain in the White House by nullifying Joe Biden’s victory.Mike Lillis, The Hill, 1 Nov. 2024
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The systematic destruction in South Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut suggests that Israel hopes to displace more than a million Lebanese Shiites, with the ultimate aim of forcing Lebanese social tensions to the breaking point.Mohanad Hage Ali, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Let the season breathe more and understand that in crunch time — at the end of halves and games — Williams has been pretty good.Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2024
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While both parties enter crunch time in what has been deemed by some to be one of the closest elections in the nation’s history, Musk has been becoming all the more of an oversized figure in the race.Chloe Berger, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Flash point.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flash%20point. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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