smolder
verb (used without object)
to burn without flame; undergo slow or suppressed combustion.
had smoldered
-
past perfectof smolder.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
Last summer, a small fire ignited on the property from roots that had smoldered for nearly a year.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 14, 2022
It had smoldered all the snowless winter and now, in February, it had burst back to life.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2022
But to others, it was a prison from which there was no escape, and within which there was misery, anger and frustration that had smoldered for more than 100 years.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 22, 2018
Between stolid, self-conscious Mr. Reid and saturnine, self-satisfied Mr. Adams, for 16 years a quarrel had smoldered.
From Time Magazine Archive
The camp-fire had smoldered as though it had not been replenished for hours.
From In the Pecos Country / Lieutenant R. H. Jayne by Edward Sylvester Ellis
