This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
pyromaniac
[ pahy-ruh-mey-nee-ak ]
/ ˌpaɪ rəˈmeɪ niˌæk /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
someone with a compulsion to set things on fire: One theory is that pyromaniacs simply love fires and the damage they cause, and so they start them.
QUIZ
WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?
Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!
Question 1 of 7
Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.
Origin of pyromaniac
OTHER WORDS FROM pyromaniac
py·ro·ma·ni·a·cal [pahy-roh-muh-nahy-uh-kuhl] /ˌpaɪ roʊ məˈnaɪ ə kəl/ adjectiveWords nearby pyromaniac
pyrolyse, pyrolysis, pyromagnetic, pyromancy, pyromania, pyromaniac, pyrometallurgy, pyrometer, pyrometric bead, pyrometric cone, pyromorphite
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use pyromaniac in a sentence
“My gut is telling me it is a pyromaniac having a good time and likes watching the buildings burn,” he says.
But when Romney uses in a speech the same phrase the president uses, he is a “race-mongering pyromaniac.”
Mark McKinnon: An Unfair Attack on Mitt Romney’s NAACP Speech|Mark McKinnon|July 14, 2012|DAILY BEASTNow, people can have a lot of legitimate criticisms of Mitt Romney, and I have some of my own, but a “race-mongering pyromaniac?”
Mark McKinnon: An Unfair Attack on Mitt Romney’s NAACP Speech|Mark McKinnon|July 14, 2012|DAILY BEASTThey could not feel worse if they learned that the child was a thief or a pyromaniac.
Woman|William J. Robinson