inflame

[in-fleym]

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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.

Nearby words

Also enflame.

Origin of inflame

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

ANTONYMS FOR inflame

2. cool, soothe.

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Related forms

in·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.

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
The man called Sam flashed an ugly look out of his foxy, inflamed eyes and went out on deck.
The River Motor Boat Boys on the Mississippi|Harry Gordon
Sometimes the parotid and submaxillary glands were inflamed; petechiae were absent.
A History of Epidemics in Britain, Volume II (of 2)|Charles Creighton
The revengeful way-path rocks had bitten into his inflamed knees.
The Red Debt|Everett MacDonald
His face was inflamed, his eyes bloodshot; drink had changed him into a very demon.
My Lady of the North|Randall Parrish
He tried to peer deep into his daughter for a moment, his inflamed face relaxing neither in its harshness nor its doubt of her.
Children of the Whirlwind|Leroy Scott

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.

inflame

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

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

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of inflame

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for inflamed

inflame

verb

inflame