inflame

[in-fleym]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inflame ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), in·flamed, in·flam·ing.

to kindle or excite (passions, desires, etc.).

to arouse to a high degree of passion or feeling: His harangue inflamed the rabble.

to incite or rouse, as to violence: His words inflamed the angry mob to riot.

(of an emotion, as rage) to cause to redden or grow heated: Uncontrollable rage inflamed his face.

to cause inflammation in: Her eyes were inflamed with crying.

to raise (the blood, bodily tissue, etc.) to a morbid or feverish heat.

to set aflame, ablaze, or afire; set on fire.

to redden with or as with flames: The setting sun inflames the sky.

verb (used without object), in·flamed, in·flam·ing.

to burst into flame; take fire.

to be kindled, as passion.

to become hot with passion, as the heart.

to become excessively affected with inflammation.

Also enflame.

Origin of inflame

1300–50; in-² + flame; replacing Middle English enflammen < Middle French enflammer < Latin inflammāre to kindle

Related formsin·flam·ed·ness

[in-fley-mid-nis] /ɪnˈfleɪ mɪd nɪs/, nounin·flam·er, nounin·flam·ing·ly, adverbre·in·flame, verb, re·in·flamed, re·in·flam·ing.un·in·flamed, adjective

Synonym study

1–3. See incite. 7. See kindle¹.

Antonyms for inflame

2. cool, soothe.

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

Related Words for inflamed

aroused, sore, irritated, fevered, swollen, infected, angered, tender, burnt, festered, chafed, blistered, angry, bloodshot, raw, red, septic

Examples from the Web for inflamed

Contemporary Examples of inflamed

We saw how such provocative actions only inflamed passions and escalated the unrest.
Awaiting the Grand Jury, Dread in Ferguson and America
Gene Robinson
November 16, 2014
And that small concession by Abe inflamed critics in Japan, who called it “a losing strategy.”
Beijing’s ‘Star Trek’ APEC Summit
Jake Adelstein
November 11, 2014
An earache in a child with a perfectly normal exam is more difficult to figure out than one with a bulging and inflamed eardrum.
DEA's Painkiller Crackdown Too Little, Too Late?
Russell Saunders
August 27, 2014
But will adding the real military defuse a situation many say has been inflamed by aggressive police?
Can the National Guard Really Help Calm an Already Militarized Ferguson?
Jacob Siegel
August 19, 2014
But no boundaries in the world are as inflamed as those between Israel and the Palestinian territories.
War of Words Between Israel and UN Continues
Betsy Pisik
August 10, 2014

Historical Examples of inflamed

The cabby turned at him his enormous and inflamed countenance truculently.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
Roderic was inflamed with anger and disgust; but he had none, upon whom to wreak his revenge.
Imogen
William Godwin
But I am so wrought, so broken in body, so inflamed in spirit.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
It showed no signs of injury, although her eyes were red and inflamed.
The Film of Fear
Arnold Fredericks
The inflamed Jake was oblivious to everything but his own purpose.
The Night Riders
Ridgwell Cullum

British Dictionary definitions for inflamed

inflame

verb

to arouse or become aroused to violent emotion

(tr) to increase or intensify; aggravate

to produce inflammation in (a tissue, organ, or part) or (of a tissue, etc) to become inflamed

to set or be set on fire; kindle

(tr) to cause to redden

Derived Formsinflamer, nouninflamingly, adverb

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 inflamed

inflame

mid-14c., "to set on fire with passion," from Latin inflammare "to set on fire, kindle," figuratively "to rouse, excite," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + flammare "to flame," from flamma "flame" (see flame (n.)). Literal sense of "to cause to burn" first recorded in English late 14c.