deflagrate

American  

[def-luh-greyt] / ˈdɛf ləˌgreɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

deflagrated, deflagrating

1. to burn, especially suddenly and violently.

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deflagrate British  

/ ˈdɛfləˌɡreɪt, ˈdiː- /

verb

1. to burn or cause to burn with great heat and light

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Other Word Forms

• deflagrability noun
• deflagrable adjective
• deflagration noun

Etymology

Origin of deflagrate

1720–30; < Latin dēflagrātus (past participle of dēflagrāre to burn down), equivalent to dē- de- + flagr ( āre ) to burn + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Finally, if the amount of picric acid be still further increased under these conditions, it will undergo partial decomposition and volatilise, but will not even deflagrate.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)

They deflagrate when sprinkled on fused nitre, forming carbonate of potash.

From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Beringer, Cornelius

They are usually made of short slips of metal foil or wire, which melt or deflagrate when the current is too strong, and thus interrupt the circuit.

From The Story of Electricity by Munro, John

The salts deflagrate and a luminous flame envelops the ordinary feeble arc-flame.

From Artificial Light Its Influence upon Civilization by Luckiesh, Matthew

The current induced in the secondary wire of a coil by the discharge of the condenser through the primary, was also sufficiently intense to deflagrate wires of considerable length and thickness.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 275, April 9, 1881 by Various