smolder

or smoul·der

[ smohl-der ]

/ ˈsmoʊl dər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR smolder ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to burn without flame; undergo slow or suppressed combustion.

to exist or continue in a suppressed state or without outward demonstration: Hatred smoldered beneath a polite surface.

to display repressed feelings, as of indignation, anger, or the like: to smolder with rage.

noun

dense smoke resulting from slow or suppressed combustion.

a smoldering fire.

Nearby words

smoky hill, smoky mountains, smoky quartz, smoky river, smoky topaz, smolder, smolensk, smollett, smolt, smooch, smoodge

Origin of smolder

1275–1325; (noun) Middle English smolder smoky vapor, dissimilated variant of smorther smother; (v.) Middle English (as present participle smolderende), derivative of the noun

Related forms

un·smol·der·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for smolder

The embers of guilt over the entire episode are placed deep within Hilly, where it will smolder for the rest of his life.
When Surprise Endings Work: Stuart Nadler’s ‘Wise Men’|Nicholas Mancusi|February 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Nevertheless, it continues to smolder away in Chicago, posing a potential threat to the Obama administration.
What Will the Fallout Be for Obama?|The Daily Beast|July 10, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Arson…Whole streets of tenements and warehouses abandoned to smolder.
The Great New York Novel|Taylor Antrim|June 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Rob can just sort of stand there and look at something and start to smolder.
Dirty Harry|Kevin Sessums|January 26, 2009|DAILY BEAST

She watched the thin paper curl and smolder among the smoking embers of last night's blaze.
The Best Short Stories of 1920|Various
The stump will burn and smolder to the end of the roots, leaving nothing but ashes.
Golden Days for Boys and Girls|Various
In places the smolder fanned to new life behind them and licked greedily at the ripe grass like hungry, red tongues.
Her Prairie Knight|B.M. Sinclair, AKA B. M. Bower
When the cooking was finished the logs were drawn back a few inches and the fire went down to coals, but continued to smolder.
Dick in the Everglades|A. W. Dimock
There was no longer a smolder in Latisan—it was all a red flame!
Joan of Arc of the North Woods|Holman Day

British Dictionary definitions for smolder

smolder

/ (ˈsməʊldə) /

verb, noun

the US spelling of smoulder

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