enkindle

[ en-kin-dl ]

/ ɛnˈkɪn dl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enkindle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with or without object), en·kin·dled, en·kin·dling.

to kindle into flame, ardor, activity, etc.

RELATED WORDS

fire, kindle, burn, ignite

Nearby words

Origin of enkindle

First recorded in 1540–50; en-¹ + kindle¹

Related formsen·kin·dler, noun

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

Examples from the Web for enkindle

This is not a word that may draw down mercy, but rather that may stir up wrath, and enkindle indignation.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Absence—a momentary separation—was enough to enkindle these flames.
The Empress Josephine|Louise Muhlbach
Put it upon thy hand, my beloved, and thou shalt see it enkindle.
Sulamith: A Romance of Antiquity|Alexandre Kuprin
Nativity alone, however, is not often sufficient to enkindle the fire of patriotism in our hearts.
Japan and the California Problem|Toyokichi Iyenaga

Enkindle this dear earth that bore us,In the hour of peril purified.
Poems of the Great War|Various

British Dictionary definitions for enkindle

enkindle

/ (ɪnˈkɪndəl) /

verb (tr)

to set on fire; kindle

to excite to activity or ardour; arouse

Derived Formsenkindler, noun

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 enkindle

enkindle

1540s (literal), 1580s (figurative), from en- (1) + kindle. Related: Enkindled; enkindling.