flammable

[ flam-uh-buhl ]

adjective

1. easily set on fire; combustible; inflammable.

flammable

/ ˈflæməbəl /

adjective

1. liable to catch fire; readily combustible; inflammable

Usage

Flammable and inflammable are interchangeable when used of the properties of materials. Flammable is, however, often preferred for warning labels as there is less likelihood of misunderstanding ( inflammable being sometimes taken to mean not flammable ). Inflammable is preferred in figurative contexts: this could prove to be an inflammable situation

Confusables Note

See inflammable.

Derived Forms

• ˌflammaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• flam·ma·bil·i·ty [flam-, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of flammable¹

First recorded in 1805–15; from Latin flammā(re) “to set on fire” + -ble

Example Sentences

The roof is already metal—a good thing—but the more I looked at the log cabin and its wooden deck and all the places embers could land and wedge in flammable places, I realized there was only so much we could do.

From Outside Online

That’s because there’ll simply be less, or less flammable, fuel to burn.

From MIT Technology Review

Usually, ordering the seizure of a country’s sovereign assets is a flammable move, and courts take their time to execute and enforce such orders.

From Quartz

A record-breaking September heat wave, along with preceding summer heat, led to highly flammable vegetation west of the Cascades, a region that rarely sees severe fires.

From Washington Post

The barrier stops flammable gas migrating into surrounding buildings leading to multiple explosions.

From Washington Post

That can happen, according to the report, when (flammable) methane leaks out of fracking wells and into drinking water.

From The Daily Beast

He doused himself with two plastic bottles of flammable liquids, and he set himself on fire.

From The Daily Beast

Ordinary people flocked to the Maidan, burning anything flammable and uprooting hunks of pavement to throw at police.

From The Daily Beast

The cabin was quickly engulfed, accelerated by highly flammable tear gas.

From The Daily Beast

Hearings for Supreme Court justices, decisions of war, flammable federal scandals.

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• combustible
• incendiary