- a variation of smolder.
smoulder
Americanverb (used without object)
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smoulders,
present (3rd person singular)
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smouldered,
past participle, past
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smouldering
present participle
verb
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to burn slowly without flame, usually emitting smoke
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(esp of anger, etc) to exist in a suppressed or half-suppressed state
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to have strong repressed or half repressed feelings, esp anger
noun
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dense smoke, as from a smouldering fire
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a smouldering fire
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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smouldersimple
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smoulderssimple
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have smoulderedperfect
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has smoulderedperfect
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am smoulderingprogressive
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are smoulderingprogressive
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is smoulderingprogressive
-
have been smoulderingperfect progressive
-
has been smoulderingperfect progressive
Past
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smoulderedsimple
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had smoulderedperfect
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was smoulderingprogressive
-
were smoulderingprogressive
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had been smoulderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of smoulder
C14: from smolder (n), of obscure origin
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.
See Examples For:
Peatland fires, common in the area, generally smoulder and spread under the soil for weeks or months, emitting huge quantities of smoke and only rarely causing surface blazes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Underground and out of sight, giant subterranean peat fires continue to smoulder, choking the air with poisonous fumes.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Once people realized that the authorities had not acted in their best interest, resentment began to smoulder.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 17, 2022
Much of the fire was doused by late on Sunday but authorities said the site will continue to smoulder in the coming days.
From Reuters ● Aug. 8, 2021
It is a tussle that continues to smoulder.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
More than a million Muslims are gathering in Mecca for the hajj pilgrimage overshadowed by the Middle East war, as animosity smoulders across the region despite a fragile ceasefire.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
But, he concluded: "I'm not sure this new version brings as much to the table... A camp fire burns at one side. It's just a pity that the production as a whole smoulders fitfully."
From BBC ● May 19, 2023
Another weekend of financial firefighting has doused the whole interest rate horizon as the banking blaze smoulders.
From Reuters ● Mar. 20, 2023
While that smoulders at the top, another row is flaring at the grassroots.
From Economist ● Apr. 28, 2011
A fire smoulders unheeded in its centre, and near it the carcass of some huge creature, upon which the black vultures, soaring aloft, have fixed their eager eyes.
From The Fatal Cord And The Falcon Rover by Mayne Reid
A bank in the Badaro neighbourhood smouldered as firefighters sprayed water, while riot police stood nearby with shields.
From Reuters ● Feb. 16, 2023
In all, six provinces in Sumatra were put on “emergency alert” as hundreds of “hotspots” of burning trees and vegetation flared and smouldered.
From Economist ● Sep. 10, 2015
They smouldered through the winter's frost, waiting for a spark to reignite.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2015
He wrote to her: "I want the lighter of my seven lamps of beauty, honour, laughter, music, love, life and immortality", but the relationship smouldered almost entirely on paper.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 5, 2011
A faint smoke curled above it, as if fire smouldered in the hill beneath.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
The war has also continued to spread, sucking in and reigniting Yemen's smouldering civil war.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Instead, he returned to find nothing but smouldering ruins.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
From damaged port infrastructure to listing ships with bridges blackened and containers still smouldering, the evidence is everywhere.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Large areas affected by the fire still contained active or smouldering hotspots requiring constant monitoring, as even a strong gust of wind could trigger fresh outbreaks, the spokesman said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
The other firemen waited behind him, in the darkness, their faces illuminated faintly by the smouldering foundation.
From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
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.
