inflammable

[in-flam-uh-buhl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inflammable ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

capable of being set on fire; combustible; flammable.

easily aroused or excited, as to passion or anger; irascible: an inflammable disposition.

noun

something inflammable.

Origin of inflammable

1595–1605; < Medieval Latin inflammābilis, equivalent to Latin inflammā(re) to inflame + -bilis -ble

Related formsin·flam·ma·bil·i·ty, in·flam·ma·ble·ness, nounin·flam·ma·bly, adverbnon·in·flam·ma·bil·i·ty, nounnon·in·flam·ma·ble, adjectivenon·in·flam·ma·ble·ness, nounnon·in·flam·ma·bly, adverbun·in·flam·ma·bil·i·ty, nounun·in·flam·ma·ble, adjective

Can be confusedinflammable inflammatory

Synonyms for inflammable

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inflammable ON THESAURUS.COM

2. fiery, volatile, choleric.

Usage note

Inflammable and flammable both mean “combustible.” Inflammable is the older by about 200 years. Flammable now has certain technical uses, particularly as a warning on vehicles carrying combustible materials, because of a belief that some might interpret the intensive prefix in- of inflammable as a negative prefix and thus think the word means “noncombustible.” Inflammable is the word more usually used in nontechnical and figurative contexts: The speaker ignited the inflammable emotions of the crowd.

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

Related Words for inflammable

combustible, dangerous, flammable, hazardous, incendiary, risky, unsafe, burnable, ignitable

Examples from the Web for inflammable

Historical Examples of inflammable

Her heart seemed not easy to reach; her impulses were not inflammable.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Somewhere it would finally reach wood; that was inflammable.
The Mind Master
Arthur J. Burks
The remainder was inflammable, and burned with a blue flame.
Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air
Joseph Priestley
Especially, if you both have inflammable tempers, do not both get mad at once.
The Wedding Ring
T. De Witt Talmage
Like oxygen, it supports the combustion of some inflammable substances.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy
Catherine Esther Beecher

British Dictionary definitions for inflammable

inflammable

adjective

liable to catch fire; flammable

readily aroused to anger or passion

noun

something that is liable to catch fire

Derived Formsinflammability or inflammableness, nouninflammably, adverb

xref

See flammable

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 inflammable

adj.

early 15c., in medicine, "liable to inflammation," from Middle French inflammable and directly from Medieval Latin inflammabilis, from Latin inflammare (see inflame). As "able to be set alight," c.1600. Related: Inflammability.