Meaning
powder keg
- a magazine for gunpowder or explosives
- a dangerous, unstable situation or region likely to erupt into violence
In a sentence
La regione di confine è ormai diventata una vera e propria polveriera.
The border region has now become a veritable powder keg.
Basterebbe un piccolo incidente per far esplodere questa polveriera politica.
A minor incident would suffice to set off this political powder keg.
La vecchia polveriera militare fu smantellata molti anni fa.
The old military powder magazine was dismantled many years ago.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| polveriera | feminine · singular |
| polveriere | feminine · plural |
Usage notes
- Most often used figuratively to describe volatile geopolitical or social conflicts.