ignite

[ig-nahyt]

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verb (used with object), ig·nit·ed, ig·nit·ing.

to set on fire; kindle.
Chemistry. to heat intensely; roast.

verb (used without object), ig·nit·ed, ig·nit·ing.

to take fire; begin to burn.

Origin of ignite

1660–70; < Latin ignītus (past participle of ignīre to set on fire, ignite), equivalent to ign(is) fire + -ītus -ite²

Related formsig·nit·a·ble, ig·nit·i·ble, adjectiveig·nit·a·bil·i·ty, ig·nit·i·bil·i·ty, nounnon·ig·nit·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·ig·nit·a·ble, adjectivenon·ig·nit·i·bil·i·ty, nounnon·ig·nit·i·ble, adjectivere·ig·nite, verb (used with object), re·ig·nit·ed, re·ig·nit·ing.un·ig·nit·a·ble, adjectiveun·ig·nit·ed, adjectiveun·ig·nit·ing, adjective

Synonyms for ignite

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1. See kindle¹.

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

Related Words for ignite

kindle, burn, inflame, fire, light, enkindle

Examples from the Web for ignite

Contemporary Examples of ignite

This regrettable action will, of course, ignite a racial gang war, leaving a heap of bodies in its wake.
Inside 'Sons of Anarchy's' Final Season: Creator Kurt Sutter on the Most Brutal Season Yet
Annaliza Savage
September 10, 2014
A great work of fiction involves a certain frisson that occurs when its various components cohere and then ignite.
Nantucket Rich Beach Lit: What Fitzgerald Wrought
Susan Cheever
July 29, 2012
Fire department officials are not saying what they suspect Burkhart used to ignite the fires.
Los Angeles Serial-Arson Suspect Charged
Christine Pelisek
January 3, 2012
But fire department officials are not saying what they suspect the arsonist is using to ignite the fires.
What’s Driving L.A. Serial Arsonist to Set Fires?
Christine Pelisek
January 2, 2012
But fire-department officials are not saying what they suspect the arsonist is using to ignite the fires.
Los Angeles Fires: Officials Race to Identify the Arsonist
Christine Pelisek
December 31, 2011

Historical Examples of ignite

A spark could ignite it and set the globe on fire like it was a brandied Christmas pudding.
Operation Earthworm
Joe Archibald
The flames did not touch her, but they did ignite the curtain at the window.
Ruth Fielding and the Gypsies
Alice B. Emerson
Fuze—a device to ignite the charge of a shell or other projectile.
Artillery Through the Ages
Albert Manucy
It is impossible to ignite there a fragment of amorphous phosphorus.
Fragments of science, V. 1-2
John Tyndall
The fuse was imperfect and did not ignite the charge as soon as was expected.
Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror
Richard Linthicum

British Dictionary definitions for ignite

ignite

verb

to catch fire or set fire to; burn or cause to burn
(tr) chem to heat strongly
(tr) to stimulate or provokethe case has ignited a nationwide debate

Derived Formsignitable or ignitible, adjectiveignitability or ignitibility, noun

Word Origin for ignite

C17: from Latin ignīre to set alight, from ignis fire

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 ignite

1660s, from Latin ignitus, past participle of ignire "set on fire," from ignis "fire" (see igneous). Attested earlier as an adjective (1550s). Related: Ignited; igniting.