aflame
Americanadjective
-
on fire; ablaze.
The house was all aflame.
-
eager and excited.
I was aflame with curiosity.
adverb
-
in flames; ablaze
-
deeply aroused, as with passion
he was aflame with desire
-
(of the face) red or inflamed
Etymology
Origin of aflame
Explanation
Something that's aflame is on fire. You might accidentally set your marshmallow aflame when you're toasting it over a campfire. Cherries jubilee is a dessert that's famous for being set aflame at the table, and a stray bolt of lightning can set the roof of a house aflame. In either case, something's burning. You can also use the word figuratively, to describe someone who's very excited: "He was aflame with enthusiasm when he learned there would be a new Harry Potter book." The Latin root of aflame is flamma, "blazing fire."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When a SpaceX rocket failure set the skies aflame over western Europe last February, no-one was sure if the debris was also polluting our atmosphere.
From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026
Video footage of the plane’s takeoff showed the General Electric engine aflame before the jet crashed in an industrial area just beyond the runway at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
Authorities also displayed video of a fallen tree set aflame in Azusa’s Pioneer Park, just two miles from the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2025
In March 2023, the producers of Amazon’s holiday movie “Candy Cane Lane,” starring Eddie Murphy, were determined to set a 15-foot fir aflame for a scene, according to court papers filed in a recent lawsuit.
From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2024
Manderley stood out like an enchanted house, every window aflame, the grey walls coloured by the falling stars.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
