arson

[ahr-suhn]

noun

1. Law.,  the malicious burning of another's house or property, or in some statutes, the burning of one's own house or property, as to collect insurance.

arson

/ ˈɑːsən /

noun

1. criminal law the act of intentionally or recklessly setting fire to another's property or to one's own property for some improper reason

Other Word Forms

• arsonist noun
• arsonous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of arson¹

First recorded in 1670–80; from Anglo-French, Old French, from Late Latin ārsiōn-, stem of ārsiō “a burn,” from ārs(us) “burned” (past participle of Latin ārd(ere) “to burn”; ardent ) + -iō -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of arson¹

C17: from Old French, from Medieval Latin ārsiō, from Latin ārdēre to burn; see _ardent

Example Sentences

Mr Lavrynovych, of Sydenham, and Mr Pochynok, of north London, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

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Prosecutors on Wednesday revealed a new indictment against Rinderknecht that upped the stakes by adding one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and one count of timber set afire.

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Cody Balmer, 38, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, aggravated arson, 22 counts of arson, burglary and other offenses at a court hearing on Tuesday.

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Second: Techniques to prevent fire ignitions in the first place, such as deploying arson watch teams on high-wind days.

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Cody Balmer, 38 years old, from Harrisburg, Penn., was sentenced by Judge Deborah Curcillo after pleading guilty to state charges of attempted murder, aggravated arson, burglary and other charges under a plea deal.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• torching www.thesaurus.com