Crucible Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

1 · a pot in which metals or other substances are heated to a very high temperature or melted ; 2 · a difficult test or challenge He's ready to face the crucible ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut crucible noun SaveWord cru·​ci·​ble |\ˈkrü-sə-bəl \ EssentialMeaningofcrucible 1 :apotinwhichmetalsorothersubstancesareheatedtoaveryhightemperatureormelted 2 formal+literary :adifficulttestorchallenge He'sreadytofacethecrucibleoftheOlympics. 3 formal+literary :aplaceorsituationthatforcespeopletochangeormakedifficultdecisions Hischaracterwasformedinthecrucibleofwar. FullDefinitionofcrucible 1 :avesselofaveryrefractory(seerefractoryentry1sense3)material(suchasporcelain)usedformeltingandcalciningasubstancethatrequiresahighdegreeofheat 2 :aseveretest He'sreadytofacethecrucibleoftheOlympics. 3 :aplaceorsituationinwhichconcentratedforcesinteracttocauseorinfluencechangeordevelopment …conditionedbyhavinggrownupwithinthecrucibleofChinatown…—TomWolfeHischaracterwasformedinthecrucibleofwar. Synonyms Didyouknow? MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutcrucible Synonymsforcrucible Synonyms cross, fire, gauntlet (alsogantlet), ordeal, trial VisittheThesaurusforMore  Didyouknow? CruciblelookslikeitshouldbecloselyrelatedtotheLatincombiningformcruc-("cross"),butitisn't.ItwasforgedfromtheMedievalLatincrucibulum,anounforanearthenpotusedtomeltmetals,andinEnglishitfirstreferredtoavesselmadeofaveryheat-resistantmaterial(suchasporcelain)usedformeltingasubstancethatrequiresahighdegreeofheat.Buttheresemblancebetweencruc-andcrucibleprobablyencouragedpeopletostartusingcrucibletomean"aseveretrial."Thatsenseissynonymouswithonemeaningofcross,awordthatisrelatedtocruc-.Thenewestsenseofcrucible("asituationinwhichgreatchangestakeplace"—asin"forgedinthecrucibleofwar")recallsthefireandheatthatwouldbeencounteredintheoriginalheat-resistantpot. ExamplesofcrucibleinaSentence He'sreadytofacethecrucibleoftheOlympics. Hischaracterwasformedinthecrucibleofwar. RecentExamplesontheWeb Holton’sdaughterAnneidentifiedanothercrucible. — EvanOsnos,TheNewYorker,19Nov.2021 AndwhileRyderCupsinglesplaycanbetheultimatecrucibleinthesport,theperformanceofthecaptain’spicksoverthefirsttwodaysnodoubthasloweredtheflamebeneaththem. — JimOwczarski,USATODAY,26Sep.2021 AndwhileRyderCupsinglesplaycanbetheultimatecrucibleinthesport,theperformanceofthecaptain’spicksoverthefirsttwodaysnodoubthasloweredtheflamebeneaththem. — JimOwczarski,MilwaukeeJournalSentinel,25Sep.2021 Italyinthe1960swasthecrucibleofinnovationinindustrialdesign,thefermentthatproducedGaeAulentiandJoeColombo. — MatthewSchneier,Curbed,14Sep.2021 TheIraniannuclearchallengeisanotherinterestingcrucible. — GabrielScheinmann,NationalReview,5Sep.2021 Butinthisfracturedcrucibleofconflictingreligious,tribalandpoliticalinterests,eventhemoststraightforwarddiplomaticmovecancreateeffectsthatareimpossibletopredict. — Time,30Aug.2021 Thematchwasnothinglikethatcrucibleofamajorthatbothhavewon,butKoepkawillwalkawaywithsomeformofbraggingrightsthatwillcertainlyprovidemoresocialmediafodder. — BrendanPorath,NewYorkTimes,26Nov.2021 Valueisforgedinthemessycrucibleofhumaninteraction. — SandraUpson,Wired,11Nov.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'crucible.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofcrucible 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforcrucible MiddleEnglishcorusible,fromMedievalLatincrucibulumearthenpotformeltingmetals LearnMoreAboutcrucible Sharecrucible PosttheDefinitionofcrucibletoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofcrucibleonTwitter TimeTravelerforcrucible Thefirstknownuseofcruciblewas inthe15thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury ListentoOurPodcastAboutcrucible ThememusicbyJoshuaStamper©2006NewJerusalemMusic/ASCAP GetWordoftheDaydeliveredtoyourinbox! SignUp DictionaryEntriesNearcrucible cruciateligament crucible cruciblefurnace SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforcrucible LastUpdated 23Dec2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Crucible.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crucible.Accessed30Dec.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforcrucible crucible noun cru·​ci·​ble |\ˈkrü-sə-bəl \ KidsDefinitionofcrucible :apotinwhichmetalsorothersubstancesareheatedtoaveryhightemperatureormelted crucible noun cru·​ci·​ble |\ˈkrü-sə-bəl \ Medical Definitionofcrucible :avesselofaveryrefractorymaterial(asporcelain)usedformeltingandcalciningasubstancethatrequiresahighdegreeofheat MorefromMerriam-Websteroncrucible Nglish:TranslationofcrucibleforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofcrucibleforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutcrucible WORDOFTHEDAY astute SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary FarmIdiomsQuiz Whatdoes'poke'refertointheexpression'piginapoke'? stateofdifficulty stable mudpit bag Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! 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