一触即発

Meaning

1. nadj-no
   critical (touch and go) situation; explosive situation

Example sentences

• 両国は一触即発の関係にある。

  Relations between the two countries have been strained to breaking point.

• 先ほどの彼らのやり取りにはひやひやしたよ。まさに一触即発の危機だったね。

  I was really nervous to see how they dealt with each other just now. I guess things were touch-and-go between them.

• イスラム系共和国が独立国家共同体に参加しない場合、それらの国々は独自の勢力を形成し、一触即発の民族的、宗教的な亀裂を生じかねない、とソ連、西側の消息筋は警告しています。

  Soviet and Western observers have warned that if the Muslim republics do not join the commonwealth, they may from a separate group, setting up a volatile ethnic and religious split.