Meaning & use
tinderbox
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Meanings
nouncountablefigurative
A situation or place that is so tense or unstable that violence or conflict could break out at any moment.
Grammar: Singular with a: the region is a tinderbox.
Patterns
- a tinderbox of something
- a political tinderbox
The border region was a tinderbox after the disputed election.
With so many angry fans, the stadium felt like a tinderbox.
Their small apartment became a tinderbox of old arguments.
nouncountable
A place, such as a forest, where everything is so dry that a single spark could start a large fire.
Grammar: Often used in news about wildfires: the hills were a tinderbox.
Patterns
- a tinderbox waiting to ignite
After months without rain, the hills were a tinderbox.
The forest turned into a tinderbox in the summer heat.
Dry grass left the whole valley a tinderbox.
nouncountableold-fashioned
In the past, a small box holding flint, steel and dry material used to light a fire.
Grammar: Historical sense found in older stories and museums.
The museum displayed an old tinderbox with a flint and steel.
Settlers carried a tinderbox before matches were common.
He struck the flint in the tinderbox until a spark caught.
Word forms
| plural | tinderboxes |
|---|
Common combinations
- political tinderbox
- The region remained a political tinderbox for decades.
- a tinderbox waiting to ignite
- The dry brush was a tinderbox waiting to ignite.
- tinderbox conditions
- Firefighters warned of tinderbox conditions.
- like a tinderbox
- The neighborhood felt like a tinderbox after the news.
- a social tinderbox
- Rising prices turned the city into a social tinderbox.
Synonyms and how they differ
- powder keg
- Powder keg is almost identical in the figurative sense and slightly more dramatic, suggesting a possible violent explosion.
- flashpoint
- A flashpoint is the exact place or moment where trouble starts, whereas a tinderbox is the whole unstable situation.
- hotbed
- Hotbed suggests a place where something such as unrest breeds, not one about to ignite.
- volatile situation
- Volatile situation is a plain, unfigurative phrase for the same thing, with less vivid imagery.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: tinderbox or powder keg?
tinderbox vs powder keg
A powder keg is the closest figurative equivalent, while a tinderbox may also literally refer to dry land or an old fire kit.
Practice
What does it mean to call a region a tinderbox?
Choose one answer.
Called a tinderbox, a region is ready to flare up at the smallest spark of trouble. A peaceful or cold place would not be described this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tinderbox”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.