deflagrate

American

[def-luh-greyt] / ˈdɛf ləˌgreɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

deflagrated, deflagrating

to burn, especially suddenly and violently.

deflagrate British

/ ˈdɛfləˌɡreɪt, ˈdiː- /

verb

to burn or cause to burn with great heat and light

"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

Other Word Forms

deflagrability noun
deflagrable adjective
deflagration noun

Etymology

Origin of deflagrate

1720–30; < Latin dēflagrātus (past participle of dēflagrāre to burn down), equivalent to dē- de- + flagr ( āre ) to burn + -ātus -ate ¹

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.

Mr de la Place and I deflagrated a convenient quantity of nitre and charcoal in an ice apparatus, and found that twelve pounds of ice were melted by the deflagration of one pound of nitre.

From Project Gutenberg

They deflagrate when sprinkled on fused nitre, forming carbonate of potash.

From Project Gutenberg

The salts deflagrate and a luminous flame envelops the ordinary feeble arc-flame.

From Project Gutenberg

The salts containing nitric acid deflagrate when heated on charcoal.

From Project Gutenberg

Finally, if the amount of picric acid be still further increased under these conditions, it will undergo partial decomposition and volatilise, but will not even deflagrate.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023