smolder

or smoul·der

[ smohl-der ]
See synonyms for: smoldersmoldering on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
  1. to burn without flame; undergo slow or suppressed combustion.

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

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

noun
  1. dense smoke resulting from slow or suppressed combustion.

  2. a smoldering fire.

Origin of smolder

1
1275–1325; (noun) Middle English smolder smoky vapor, dissimilated variant of smorthersmother; (v.) Middle English (as present participle smolderende), derivative of the noun

Other words from smolder

  • un·smol·der·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use smolder in a sentence

  • Gus may be smoldering inside, but the only indication the viewer ever gets is through the weight in his eyes.

    'Breaking Bad' Kills It! | Maria Elena Fernandez | October 10, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Charred beams and blackened walls showed stark and gaunt in the glow of a smoldering mass of wreckage.

    The Red Year | Louis Tracy
  • He stirred the smoldering ashes till the broiled fowl began to sizzle afresh.

  • They burlesqued womanhood in a way that stirred always a smoldering resentment against them.

    Cabin Fever | B. M. Bower
  • The waiters were all Martian slaves, he noticed, their phosphorescent owl-eyes smoldering in the dim blue light.

    Security | Poul William Anderson
  • In the middle of this higher floor was a smoldering wood fire, from which the smoke had colored the roof timbers a shiny black.

    Silver Chimes in Syria | W. S. Nelson

British Dictionary definitions for smolder

smolder

/ (ˈsməʊldə) /


verb, noun
  1. 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