pyromania
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pyromania
Explanation
It is never a good idea to leave a person who suffers from pyromania alone with a box of matches, since pyromania is a strong urge to start fires. Manias, compulsions or obsessions, are rarely good things, and this one is especially undesirable: an uncontrollable impulse to set fires. The pyr- part, from Greek for "fire," appears in pyramid, pyrotechnic, and empyreal; the English word fire is also distantly related. The mania part means "madness" in Greek, and "fire madness" is a good way to think of pyromania.
Vocabulary lists containing pyromania
Elements of the Universe: Pyr, Pyro ("Fire")
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Psychological Conditions and Disorders
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Psychology
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Studies have found that less than 10% of adults who start fires meet the criteria for pyromania.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2025
It’s a testament to Yeun’s commitment that Ben’s veneer of disquieting swagger never breaks: he yawns, laughs, speaks, smokes, shakes hands, and discloses his casual pyromania all with the same air of arrogant self-possession.
From The Guardian • Jan. 9, 2019
In my memories of adolescence, beneath the constant ribbing and occasional pyromania, we had tremendous affection for one another.
From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2018
The term has been in common use since George Roby Dempster invented the contraption in 1936; evidently they’ve always been prone to pyromania or spontaneous combustion.
From Washington Post • Jan. 8, 2018
“You were gazing into that fire like you wanted to eat it or something. I have a cousin who for real struggles with pyromania, so I’ve seen that look before.”
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
