slow burn

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a gradual building up of anger, as opposed to an immediate outburst.

   I did a slow burn as the conversation progressed.

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slow burn British  

noun

1. a steadily penetrating show of anger or contempt

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slow burn Idioms  

1. Slowly increasing anger. It is often put as do a slow burn, meaning “gradually grow angrier,” as in I did a slow burn when he kept me waiting for three hours. The burn in this idiom comes from burn up in the sense of “make furious.” The term was first cited in 1938 and was closely associated with comedian Edgar Kennedy.

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Example Sentences

It's extremely tempting to write a segue here about Wolf's career having had its own teething troubles – but, in truth, it's been more of a slow burn on a long fuse.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

But for Odenkirk, it was the prospect of a slow burn that appealed to him, with a first stretch that plays closer to “Fargo” before the mayhem ramps up to almost cartoonish proportions.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

“But instead of said hyperscaler slow burn, it’s zoom to the second-order impact of ‘AI disruption’ already hitting bottom lines.”

From MarketWatch • Feb. 4, 2026

The story of her disintegrating marriage to fellow writer Murray Bail makes for a slow burn of suspense and readerly alarm.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

Mom is a slow burn; she’s not going to let it all out at once.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

Related Words

• acrimony
• animosity
• annoyance
• antagonism
• displeasure
• enmity
• exasperation
• fury
• hatred
• impatience
• indignation
• ire
• irritation
• outrage
• passion
• rage
• resentment
• temper
• violence