flammable

[flam-uh-buh l]

See more synonyms for flammable on Thesaurus.com

adjective

easily set on fire; combustible; inflammable.

Origin of flammable

1805–15; < Latin flammā(re) to set on fire + -ble

Related formsflam·ma·bil·i·ty, noun

Usage note

See inflammable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for flammable

incendiary, combustible, inflammable, burnable, ignitable

Examples from the Web for flammable

Contemporary Examples of flammable

That can happen, according to the report, when (flammable) methane leaks out of fracking wells and into drinking water.
New York’s Conservative Fracking Ban
Jay Michaelson
December 20, 2014
He doused himself with two plastic bottles of flammable liquids, and he set himself on fire.
Suicidal Anti-war Protest Shocks Japan as It Rethinks Pacifist Constitution
Angela Erika Kubo, Jake Adelstein
June 30, 2014
Hearings for Supreme Court justices, decisions of war, flammable federal scandals.
Senate Panel Quizzes Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan on Colombian Prostitutes
Daniel Stone
May 23, 2012

British Dictionary definitions for flammable

flammable

adjective

liable to catch fire; readily combustible; inflammable

Derived Formsflammability, noun

usage

Flammable and inflammable are interchangeable when used of the properties of materials. Flammable is, however, often preferred for warning labels as there is less likelihood of misunderstanding (inflammable being sometimes taken to mean not flammable). Inflammable is preferred in figurative contexts: this could prove to be an inflammable situation

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 flammable

adj.

1813, from Latin flammare "to set on fire" (from flamma; see flame) + -able.