conflagration

[kon-fluh-grey-shuhn]

noun

1. a destructive fire, usually an extensive one.

conflagration

/ ˌkɒnfləˈɡreɪʃən /

noun

1. a large destructive fire

Other Word Forms

• conflagrative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of conflagration¹

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin conflagrātiōn- (stem of conflagrātiō ), equivalent to conflagrāt(us), past participle of conflagrāre “to burn up”; con- ( def. ), -ate ¹ ( def. ), -ion ( def. ). Latin flagr- of conflagrāre is akin to fulgur “lightning,” flamma ( flame ), Greek phlóx ( phlox )

Word History and Origins

Origin of conflagration¹

C16: from Latin conflagrātiō, from conflagrāre to be burnt up, from com- (intensive) + flagrāre to burn; related to Latin fulgur lightning

Synonym Study

See flame.

Example Sentences

January’s conflagration produced plenty of targets for public outrage.

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The ember cast transformed what started as a wildfire into a full-blown urban conflagration.

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As for the Paltadena conflagrations, heat and wind were major factors, and in the Palisades fire, 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht was charged with setting the brush fire that eventually set off the killer blaze.

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But it was only with an arson arrest this month that federal investigators officially declared the deadly conflagration a holdover fire — the continuation of the Lachman fire that was seemingly extinguished.

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Just northwest, on the other side of Calabasas, Ventura County Fire Department deployed 500 goats and 100 sheep to eat acres of invasive grasses that are prone to conflagration.

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Related Words

• blaze 
• bonfire 
• inferno 
• wildfire