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combustible

[kuh m-buhs-tuh-buh l]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR combustible ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

capable of catching fire and burning; inflammable; flammable: Gasoline vapor is highly combustible.

easily excited: a high-strung, combustible nature.

noun

a combustible substance: Trucks carrying combustibles will not be allowed to use this tunnel.

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RELATED WORDS

incendiary, volatile, flammable, fiery, kindling, explosive, firing, inflammable, burnable, combustive, ignitable

Nearby words

Origin of combustible

From the Late Latin word combūstibilis, dating back to 1520–30. See combust, -ible

Related formscom·bus·ti·bil·i·ty, com·bus·ti·ble·ness, nouncom·bus·ti·bly, adverbun·com·bus·ti·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for combustible

This means not offering provocative remarks on a combustible topic like immigration, which is sure to make them enemies.
Obama and Latinos Are at the Breaking Point|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|July 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Children have fantasy lives so rich and combustible that rigging them with lies is like putting a propeller on a rocket.
Why Jimmy Kimmel’s Lies Matter|Sam Harris|November 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This combustible brew of race, class, and economic anxieties bubbles all too closely to the surface.
The GOP’s Backdoor Impeachment Scheme|Lloyd Green|October 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The mix of al Qaeda in the Maghreb, Ansar al Dine, and the Tuareg rebels is combustible.
Al Qaeda’s Dangerous Play in Mali|Bruce Riedel|January 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST

It runs on combustible poison—ammonia and pressurized hydrogen.
American Dreams: ‘The Mosquito Coast’ by Paul Theroux|Nathaniel Rich|September 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
For this reason—the wood is not combustible enough to be fired by the red-hot tinder.
The Story of a Tinder-box|Charles Meymott Tidy
Then I will take the bricquettes' place—I am sure I am combustible enough!
The Little Grey House|Marion Ames Taggart
Smoke and flames from the dongas told that some of our shells had fallen among the wagons and their combustible stores.
The Great Boer War|Arthur Conan Doyle
Under the wood there is plenty of combustible material; the torch is applied, and instantly all is hidden by the flames.
Foot-prints of Travel|Maturin M. Ballou
A fire-ship, filled with every combustible substance, was towed into their midst, and at ten o'clock the torch was applied.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine|Various

British Dictionary definitions for combustible

combustible

adjective

capable of igniting and burning

easily annoyed; excitable

noun

a combustible substance

Derived Formscombustibility or combustibleness, nouncombustibly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for combustible

combustible

adj.

1520s, from Middle French combustible, or directly from Late Latin combustibilis, from Latin combustus, past participle of combuere "to burn up, consume" (see combustion). Figurative sense is from 1640s; as a noun, from 1680s. Related: Combustibility (late 15c.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Medicine definitions for combustible

combustible

[kəm-bŭs′tə-bəl]

adj.

Capable of igniting and burning.

n.

A substance that ignites and burns readily.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.