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

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.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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

Although the protests were largely peaceful, there were several incidents of vandalism and arson early in the morning and some people in masks clashed with police later on.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• torching www.thesaurus.com