definitions

pyromania

[ pahy-ruh-mey-nee-uh, -meyn-yuh ]
/ ˌpaɪ rəˈmeɪ ni ə, -ˈmeɪn yə /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pyromania ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a compulsion to set things on fire.

RELATED WORDS

incendiary, arsonist, firebug

Nearby words

pyrolyse, pyrolysis, pyrolytic, pyromagnetic, pyromancy, pyromania, pyromaniac, pyromaniacal, pyrometallurgy, pyrometer, pyrometric

Origin of pyromania

First recorded in 1835–45; pyro- + -mania

Related forms

py·ro·ma·ni·ac [pahy-ruh-mey-nee-ak] /ˌpaɪ rəˈmeɪ niˌæk/, nounpy·ro·ma·ni·a·cal [pahy-roh-muh-nahy-uh-kuh l] /ˌpaɪ roʊ məˈnaɪ ə kəl/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pyromaniac

  • “My gut is telling me it is a pyromaniac having a good time and likes watching the buildings burn,” he says.

    Who’s Setting This Small Town on Fire?|Christine Pelisek|April 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST

  • They could not feel worse if they learned that the child was a thief or a pyromaniac.

    Woman|William J. Robinson

British Dictionary definitions for pyromaniac

pyromania

/ (ˌpaɪrəʊˈmeɪnɪə) /

noun

psychiatry the uncontrollable impulse and practice of setting things on fire

Derived Forms

pyromaniac, nounpyromaniacal (ˌpaɪrəʊməˈnaɪəkəl), adjective
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

Medicine definitions for pyromaniac

pyromania

[ pī′rō-mā′nē-ə, -mān′yə ]

n.

An uncontrollable impulse to start fires.

Related forms

py′ro•ma′ni•ac′ (-mā′nē-ăk′) adj. n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Culture definitions for pyromaniac

pyromania

[ (peye-roh-may-nee-uh) ]

An uncontrollable urge to set fires.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.