crucible

/'kru:sibl/

Thân thiện

A scientist carefully heats a liquid in a crucible over a Bunsen burner.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A container for melting substances: A crucible is a pot or vessel made from a material that can withstand very high temperatures. It is used in laboratories and industries for heating substances to extreme temperatures, often for chemical reactions or melting metals.
   • A severe test or trial (figurative): By extension, a "crucible" can refer to a situation of intense difficulty, pressure, or suffering that tests someone's character and causes a significant change.

Examples of Usage

• Literal meaning:

  • The chemist heated the mixture in a porcelain crucible.
  • Gold is often melted in a graphite crucible.

• Figurative meaning:

  • The war was a crucible that forged his leadership.
  • The company survived the crucible of the economic crisis.

Advanced Usage

• "In the crucible of (something)": Used to describe being formed or tested by a difficult experience.
  • Her character was shaped in the crucible of adversity.
• "A crucible moment": A critical, defining moment of trial.
  • The scandal was a crucible moment for the administration.

Variants and Related Words

• Crucible steel (noun): A type of high-quality steel made by melting iron and other materials in a crucible.
  • The blade was made from traditional crucible steel.

Synonyms

• Melting pot (for the figurative sense of a place/situation where different elements interact and change).
• Trial (for the figurative sense of a test).
• Vessel or container (for the literal sense).

Related Idioms and Phrases

• To be tempered in a crucible: To be strengthened or hardened by a difficult experience.
  • The team was tempered in the crucible of intense competition.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a vessel made of material that does not melt easily; used for high temperature chemical reactions

Từ đồng nghĩa

• melting pot