crucible

noun

cru·​ci·​ble ˈkrü-sə-bəl 

1

: a vessel of a very refractory (see refractory entry 1 sense 3) material (such as porcelain) used for melting and calcining a substance that requires a high degree of heat

2

: a severe test

He's ready to face the crucible of the Olympics.

3

: a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development

… conditioned by having grown up within the crucible of Chinatown …

—Tom Wolfe

His character was formed in the crucible of war.

Did you know?

Unless you’re studying Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in school, it may not be crucial to learn the story behind crucible, but it can’t hurt! Crucible looks like it should be closely related to the Latin combining form cruc- (“cross”); however, unlike crucial, it isn’t. It was forged instead from the Medieval Latin crucibulum, a noun for an earthen pot used to melt metals, and in English it first referred to a vessel made of a very heat-resistant material (such as porcelain) used for melting a substance that requires a high degree of heat. It’s possible that the resemblance between cruc- and crucible encouraged people to start using crucible to mean “a severe trial,” as that sense is synonymous with one meaning of cross, but the idea of simmering in a literal crucible also sounds plenty severe. The newest sense of crucible (“a situation in which great changes take place,” as in “forged in the crucible of war”) recalls the fire and heat required to transform some solids into liquids.

Synonyms

• cross
• fire
• gauntlet
• gantlet
• ordeal
• trial

Examples of crucible in a Sentence

He's ready to face the crucible of the Olympics.

His character was formed in the crucible of war.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the crucible of major corporate transformation, these elements can make the difference between triumph and disaster. —Sidharth Ramsinghaney, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

The notion that children’s lives are forged in a crucible of relentless résumé building is somewhat undermined by current surveys of how many of their waking hours are spent on gaming and social media. —Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2024

And these glass vessels function like crucibles in the painting—that’s to say, what is put into them is transformed, and Manet needed that transformation. —Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024

Related How Hurricane Helene became a monster storm Spruce Pine has the only naturally occurring quartz that’s pure enough to serve as a crucible to melt polysilicon. —Emma Roth, The Verge, 1 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English corusible, from Medieval Latin crucibulum earthen pot for melting metals

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing crucible

• crucible steel

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Kids Definition

crucible

noun

cru·​ci·​ble ˈkrü-sə-bəl 

1

: a pot made of a substance not easily damaged by fire that is used for holding something to be treated under great heat

2

: a severe test

Medical Definition

crucible

noun

cru·​ci·​ble ˈkrü-sə-bəl 

: a vessel of a very refractory material (as porcelain) used for melting and calcining a substance that requires a high degree of heat