pyromania
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- pyromaniac noun
- pyromaniacal adjective
Etymology
Origin of pyromania
Explanation
It is never a good idea to leave a person who suffers from pyromania alone with a box of matches, since pyromania is a strong urge to start fires. Manias, compulsions or obsessions, are rarely good things, and this one is especially undesirable: an uncontrollable impulse to set fires. The pyr- part, from Greek for "fire," appears in pyramid, pyrotechnic, and empyreal; the English word fire is also distantly related. The mania part means "madness" in Greek, and "fire madness" is a good way to think of pyromania.
Vocabulary lists containing pyromania
Elements of the Universe: Pyr, Pyro ("Fire")
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Psychological Conditions and Disorders
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Psychology
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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.
Studies have found that less than 10% of adults who start fires meet the criteria for pyromania.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2025
It’s a testament to Yeun’s commitment that Ben’s veneer of disquieting swagger never breaks: he yawns, laughs, speaks, smokes, shakes hands, and discloses his casual pyromania all with the same air of arrogant self-possession.
From The Guardian • Jan. 9, 2019
As in India, Pakistan’s state governments have been wary of forcing farmers, a crucial vote bank, to curb their pyromania.
From Economist • Nov. 16, 2017
New Orleans anthem that begins with story of elderly pyromania?
From Washington Post • Feb. 11, 2015
Not with the fire department, which would know right away it was arson and dismiss it as another case of pyromania in a neighborhood crawling with firebugs.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
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.
