inflame
Americanverb (used with object)
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to kindle or excite (passions, desires, etc.).
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to arouse to a high degree of passion or feeling.
His harangue inflamed the rabble.
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to incite or rouse, as to violence.
His words inflamed the angry mob to riot.
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(of an emotion, as rage) to cause to redden or grow heated.
Uncontrollable rage inflamed his face.
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to cause inflammation in.
Her eyes were inflamed with crying.
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to raise (the blood, bodily tissue, etc.) to a morbid or feverish heat.
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to set aflame, ablaze, or afire; set on fire.
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to redden with or as with flames.
The setting sun inflames the sky.
verb (used without object)
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to burst into flame; take fire.
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to be kindled, as passion.
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to become hot with passion, as the heart.
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to become excessively affected with inflammation.
verb
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to arouse or become aroused to violent emotion
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(tr) to increase or intensify; aggravate
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to produce inflammation in (a tissue, organ, or part) or (of a tissue, etc) to become inflamed
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to set or be set on fire; kindle
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(tr) to cause to redden
Related Words
Other Word Forms
- inflamedness noun
- inflamer noun
- inflamingly adverb
- reinflame verb
- uninflamed adjective
Etymology
Origin of inflame
First recorded in 1300–50; in- 2 + flame; replacing Middle English enflammen, from Middle French enflammer, from Latin inflammāre “to kindle”
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.
"My skin was hot, so inflamed and red. It began to crack and ooze, and the itch was bone deep. It consumed my whole body, and then it began to consume my whole life."
From BBC
City leaders have previously resisted federal deployments, arguing they undermine local control and risk inflaming already tense situations.
From Los Angeles Times
So even small disputes can inflame old divisions or trigger new ones.
From BBC
All this is based on observations so obvious they’re hard to resist: War requires weaponry, the supply of oil is being choked, fear and uncertainty inflame the demand for gold.
While the attack focused on military targets and avoided hitting the energy infrastructure, it further inflamed Gulf concerns.
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.
