ablaze
Americanadjective
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burning; on fire.
They set the logs ablaze.
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gleaming with bright lights, bold colors, etc.
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excited; eager; zealous; ardent.
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very angry.
adjective
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on fire; burning
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brightly illuminated
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emotionally aroused
Etymology
Origin of ablaze
Explanation
Use the adjective ablaze to describe something that's on fire. Once your campfire is ablaze, you can toast marshmallows over it. If there's a terrible fire in your town, it might set many houses ablaze, and some people dispose of fallen leaves and branches by setting them ablaze in the yard. The word dates from the 14th century, and it combines the prefix a-, which here means "on," and blaze, or "flame," from the Old English blæse, "torch, flame, firebrand, or lamp."
Vocabulary lists containing ablaze
"Ode to the Table" by Pablo Neruda
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Towers Falling
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Let There Be Light: Synonyms for "Bright"
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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.
He said he ran to save a trailer that was ablaze and even caught fire himself before firefighters doused him and the vehicle.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
The oil wells set ablaze in Kuwait in the 1990s during the first Gulf War took months to extinguish and released an estimated 130 to 400 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
From Barron's • Mar. 15, 2026
Also, CNN reported that 38 crew members were rescued after a suspected Iranian attack set two foreign tankers ablaze in Iraqi territorial waters, citing the head of Iraq’s ports company.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 11, 2026
Satellite images of the southern end of the port show smoke rising from Makran, while two other vessels appear to be damaged, one visibly ablaze.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
One wrong move and he could set the entire place ablaze; it was all too easy to recall the nasty bums on beastkeepers who’d forgotten that.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
