flash points

noun

plural of flash point
1
as in volcanoes
a potentially explosive place or situation that troubled region remains one of the world's most dangerous flash points

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in crises
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action tensions between the two longtime adversaries were at a flash point

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 flash points The number of geopolitical flash points would multiply as governments rushed to grab their share of the oceans and protect their claims through force. — Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026 The dispute over the route became one of the defining flash points of the conflict in Northern Ireland. — Amanda Ferguson Reuters, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026 And it’s been one of the country’s most visible flash points in the race to build new critical-mineral mines. — Justin Worland, Time, 4 Aug. 2026 Kashmir remains one of the world’s most contentious geopolitical flash points. — Peter Dziedzic, The Conversation, 30 July 2026 Amid noise, close quarters, and rigid routines, interactions become flash points. — Jordan Rau, NPR, 19 July 2026 The context for Xi’s remarks was a potential war between China and the United States over Taiwan, and the urgency to tamp down flash points. — Letters To The Editor, Washington Post, 17 May 2026 Despite the focus on the Middle East, the leaders took up major regional flash points, including the South China Sea territorial disputes involving Beijing, a five-year civil war in Myanmar and a recent border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. — Jim Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026 Policymakers expect other flash points. — Alan Greenblatt, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flash points
  1. volcanoes
  2. crises
  3. time bombs
  4. crossroads
  5. boiling points
  6. heads
  7. breaking points
Noun
  • Recent studies discovered the planet is more volcanically active than previously thought, but the researchers found that ash belched out by Venusian volcanoes is not the source of haze particles.
    — Elizabeth Rayne, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The chef will dazzle the crowd with his knife work, building steaming volcanoes out of onions and tossing food to diners to catch in their mouths.
    — Susan Stapleton, Des Moines Register, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of volcanoes
Noun
  • Expectations around workload and external factors, including international conflicts and crises, are contributing to these heightened anxieties.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Presenhuber added that economic crises and global politics seem continue to dampen her clients’ moods overall—and their spending.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of crises
Noun
  • In Europe, multiethnic capitals are pilloried by the far right as demographic time bombs, ground zero for invasions of unwanted foreigners.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of time bombs
Noun
  • Obsession follows a socially awkward young man named Bear, who finds himself at a crossroads when his wish to win the heart of his longtime crush takes on frighteningly possessive consequences.
    — Mariam Bagdady, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026
  • This year’s event arrives amid surging hopes but lingering anxieties for an African industry at a crossroads.
    — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of crossroads
Noun
  • The intense temperature and pressure of the impact heated the moon's crust and mantle so much that many of the volatile elements present (volatiles are elements with low boiling points), including potassium, evaporated and escaped into space.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Thermodynamics drives selective recovery The researchers hypothesized that FJH combined with chlorine gas could exploit differences in Gibbs free energy and boiling points to selectively remove non-REE elements from magnet waste.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2025
Definition of boiling points
Noun
  • Looking through small microscopes implanted in the mice’s heads, Patel’s team zoomed in on a particular subset of brain cells, called somatostatin neurons, as the animals reacted to the fox urine scent.
    — Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Zavodovski is home to both chinstraps and macaroni penguins, which have distinctive yellow feather plumes on their heads.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of heads
Noun
  • This time around, traders often cite the booming (and opaque) private credit market and AI datacenter plans funded too much by debt — some of it off balance sheet — as likely breaking points.
    — Sean Conlon, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of breaking points

Browse Nearby Words

flash point
flash points
flashy
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Cite this Entry

“Flash points.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flash%20points. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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