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

This relationship has been a slow burn for so many years, and so many people have an attachment and hopes for how it would come to a close.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 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

But for the audience, those sentiments more accurately reflect Ramsay’s film, a slow burn that exhausts its welcome and dies in a blaze after losing its grip on a meandering narrative.

From Salon • Nov. 7, 2025

Its ascent to the pinnacle of tech success began as something of a slow burn in 1993, when Huang, 62, launched the company alongside Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 3, 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