smolder
Americanverb (used without object)
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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.
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to display repressed feelings, as of indignation, anger, or the like.
to smolder with rage.
noun
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dense smoke resulting from slow or suppressed combustion.
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a smoldering fire.
verb
Other Word Forms
- unsmoldering adjective
Etymology
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What a mess, and the story is likely to smolder into the new year.
From Los Angeles Times
Why was an earlier Palisades fire allowed to smolder until it sparked the inferno that wiped out the town?
From Los Angeles Times
As parts of the city smoldered, many turned to Didion’s aching, poetic rendering of a paradise lost.
From Los Angeles Times
Many agencies have utilized technology like infrared drones to scan for lingering heat, but the solution might be as simple as spending extra time patrolling after the fire to ensure nothing is smoldering, experts say.
From Los Angeles Times
And why is the cigar still smoldering, burning a little hole in the newspaper?
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
