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

See Examples For:

slow burn

“Here was this slow burn that then took the publishing world by storm and I thought, I’d better find out what all the fuss is,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

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

If Brownell’s comments to Netflix’s inhouse publication Tudum are anything to go by, fans should prepare for a bit of a slow burn — at least by “Bridgerton” standards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 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

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