combustible
Americanadjective
-
capable of catching fire and burning; inflammable; flammable.
Gasoline vapor is highly combustible.
-
easily excited.
a high-strung, combustible nature.
noun
adjective
-
capable of igniting and burning
-
easily annoyed; excitable
noun
Other Word Forms
- combustibility noun
- combustibleness noun
- combustibly adverb
- uncombustible adjective
Etymology
Origin of combustible
From the Late Latin word combūstibilis, dating back to 1520–30. See combust, -ible
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.
If those Lakers — combustible and bored but built better than every other team on the planet at the time — could turn the triple play, so can Roberts’ drama-free superteam.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026
Queens Park Rangers' demise was less nostalgia-tinged decline and more a combustible two-season spell fuelled by big reputations earning bigger bucks.
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
The author also keeps an eye on the larger socio-political context, particularly in Philadelphia during the Mayor Frank Rizzo era, when racial tension was combustible.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
The calm that followed has been imposed rather than negotiated, leaving the situation highly combustible.
From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026
Trains heading into Mexico City stop first in Lecherfa to leave any cars with combustible contents.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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.
