Definition of "crucible" [cru•ci•ble]

• A vessel made of a refractory substance such as graphite or porcelain, used for melting and calcining materials at high temperatures. (noun)
• A severe test, as of patience or belief; a trial. See Synonyms at trial. (noun)
• A place, time, or situation characterized by the confluence of powerful intellectual, social, economic, or political forces: "Macroeconomics . . . was cast in the crucible of the Depression” ( Peter Passell). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The scope of the crucible is always brought home to me by one single moment: The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff on January 30, 1945."
• "In this crucible is formed the young Naipaul, who writes home from Oxford to Seepersad Naipaul, his beloved and writerly father and mentor, to say: I want to come top of my group."
• "Bollingen, which Jung considered his alchemical crucible, is dismissed by Giegerich as"