smolder
verb (used without object)
to burn without flame; undergo slow or suppressed combustion.
smolders
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present tense formof smolder (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
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.
In Kim Eunho’s 1927 ink and color painting on silk, “Woman Reading the Fortune of the Day,” a hostess in traditional hanbok dress whiles away her break with gaming tiles as a cigarette smolders nearby.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
In "The Underground Railroad" he smolders as Royal, a free Black man who rescues an enslaved woman, Cora, from a heartless bounty hunter who never stops chasing her.
From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2021
As the Alisal fire smolders in Santa Barbara County, residents in Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Friday were bracing for the arrival of critical fire weather and the threat of Santa Ana winds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2021
Independent analyst Valery Karbalevich said that while the Russian money has buttressed Lukashenko’s rule for now, the broad discontent smolders and could spill over at any moment.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 8, 2021
The trees seethe and the house smolders, and standing in the gravel of the driveway, the daylight nearly finished, the locksmith has an unsettling thought: Someone might be coming for us.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
