inflammatory

[in-flam-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

adjective

1. tending to arouse anger, hostility, passion, etc..

   inflammatory speeches.

   Synonyms: provocative, incendiary, fiery

2. Pathology.,  of or caused by inflammation.

inflammatory

/ ɪnˈflæmətərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. characterized by or caused by inflammation

2. tending to arouse violence, strong emotion, etc

Other Word Forms

• inflammatorily adverb
• noninflammatory adjective
• subinflammatory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of inflammatory¹

First recorded in 1725–35; from Latin inflammāt(us) “kindled” (past participle of inflammāre “to kindle”; inflame ) + -ory ¹

Example Sentences

When the team administered the S3QEL compound to mice engineered to model frontotemporal dementia, they observed reduced astrocyte activation, lower levels of inflammatory gene expression, and a decrease in a tau modification linked to dementia.

Read more on Science Daily

She also has an inflammatory condition which affects her joints.

Read more on BBC

One group, the inflammatory macrophages, attacks harmful microbes, while the other, the non-inflammatory macrophages, repairs tissue and promotes healing.

Read more on Science Daily

The finished product, titled “Commietown,” used racially inflammatory images, including those of threatening Arab men, some toting guns, and a Black man chasing people on a subway platform with a machete.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He added, however, that Mamdani “has noticeably worked to correct some of his more inflammatory previous statements and positions in pursuit of the mayor’s office.”

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• incendiary 
• intemperate 
• provocative